<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>What If....Supernatural Scenarios. by DarkHell616</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27650629">What If....Supernatural Scenarios.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkHell616/pseuds/DarkHell616'>DarkHell616</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supernatural</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aftercare, Alternate Universe, Canon-Typical Behavior, Canon-Typical Drinking, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, Gen, Headcanon, Hurt/Comfort, Jealousy, Mentions of Sex, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Minor Injuries, Monsters, Non-Chronological, One Shot Collection, Pregnancy, Reader-Insert, Rough Sex, Scenarios, Serious Injuries, Unplanned Pregnancy, Unrequited Crush, Yes I Spell It 'Cas'</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 20:29:47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>38,197</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27650629</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkHell616/pseuds/DarkHell616</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>What if you joined the hunt?</p><p>A non-linear collection of scenarios with some of our favourite Supernatural boys.</p><p>&gt; Requests are open &lt;</p><p>To be edited -<br/>Returning from break - Old request<br/>A surprise - Normal lives edition<br/>Random text incoming<br/>You are a monster - Old request<br/>Living normal lives</p><p>Requests -<br/></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Castiel (Supernatural)/You, Castiel/Reader, Crowley (Supernatural)/Reader, Crowley (Supernatural)/You, Dean Winchester/Reader, Dean Winchester/You, Gabriel (Supernatural)/Reader, Gabriel (Supernatural)/You, Lucifer (Supernatural)/Reader, Lucifer (Supernatural)/You, Sam Winchester/Reader, Sam Winchester/You</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>69</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>145</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. You Got Hurt on the Field</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is a series I started three years ago and haven't updated in two years, that I'd completely forgot about until someone commented on it.<br/>I've got about eighteen chapters.<br/>So, heck it...I'll upload it here too with only minor editing, maybe I'll even continue it and take requested scenarios.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Castiel:</strong>
</p><p>Castiel looked at your disheveled appearance and merely shook his head.</p><p>Your clothes were torn to shreds and you were covered in deep scratches of various sizes, your right eye was black and almost swollen</p><p>completely shut.</p><p>You cradled one of your hands in the other, from the way you were holding it he knew that the wrist was broken.</p><p>Needless to say, you look liked you’d gone ten rounds with a small Hellhound puppy.</p><p>He knew better than to question what had happened during your latest case, injuries were to be expected in your line of work.</p><p>Even if he was beginning to take a disliking to seeing you hurt.</p><p>The angel didn’t fully understand why, but he was beginning to pick up on social and emotional cues and was starting to gradually piece it all together why he hated it.</p><p>But for now he’d keep quiet, doing the usual routine of letting you ramble on about whatever made you feel comfortable as a form of emotional therapy after he’d healed you up.</p><p>It was these comforting moments that helped you carry on as a hunter, simply knowing you had someone who would let you vent whilst watching over you protectively made hunting like that little but easier.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Crowley:</strong>
</p><p>Crowley stared with a blank expression as he surveyed the large gash decorating your throat, it was a nasty looking slash that seemed to refuse to stop bleeding.</p><p>Clenched tightly in your hand was a rag that you were using to clean the thing, not that it was any use to you at the moment as the piece of cloth was practically sopping wet with blood.</p><p>“Out with it,” he demanded with a bored tone.</p><p>“With what?”</p><p>“What happened,” he snapped irritably, his temper as short as ever.</p><p>“Oh, ‘that’, right,” you sighed, this was a moment you had not been looking forward to. “I was summoned to make a deal and it transpires that hunters have started taking extra lengths to get to us.”</p><p>You look at Crowley to survey any reaction, but he was being as unreadable as possible right now.</p><p>“The girl lashed out at me with a knife,” you continued. “Thankfully it wasn’t a demon killing knife or I’d be dead right now.”</p><p>The King finally made a move and nodded slowly, licking his bottom lip as his eyebrows knitted together like he was deep in thought.</p><p>“And that’s all?”</p><p>“Yes sir.”</p><p>“I see,” he shifted his weight onto his other foot whilst putting his hands into the pockets of his suit pants. “Well, perhaps if you were a half competent demon you wouldn’t be in this situation.”</p><p>You could only gawp in shock as Crowley turned away from you and headed back towards his barren throne room, not even throwing a glance back over his shoulder to say he was kidding and really cared.</p><p>You could continue dreaming of that day.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Dean:</strong>
</p><p>“Relax, Dean, it’s just a flesh wound,” you sighed as he gave you a concerned look for the tenth time in a minute.</p><p>It had only been a grand total of ten minutes since you got back to the motel room with the Winchester brothers and already Dean was giving you a guilty look.</p><p>You all had just returned from a basic and easy ghost case, sure the spirit had bit of a violent tendency and liked to throw things around like a child throwing a tantrum and sure you had gotten caught in the crossfire of a particularly sharp piece of metal, but Dean was being ridiculously over protective.</p><p>“I know, but if I hadn’t provoked it-“</p><p>“Then you could have been hit,” you rolled your eyes, “or Sam, or you know, I could have still been hit.”</p><p>The older Winchester looked over at you, briefly stopping his rifling around in the makeshift hunter first aid box he kept stored in his bag.</p><p>“I guess.”</p><p>“There’s no <em>‘I guess</em>’ about it,” you huffed, putting on a deep and gruff voice to imitate him. “Now pass me the damn antiseptic and some plasters.”</p><p>Dean pouted in irritation at you, but still passed over the alcohol they commonly used as wound cleanser and emotional pain healer so you could clean the bloody cut on your leg.</p><p>He’d still worry about you and feel bad every time he’d see the protective gauze until the wound healed, but now he knew better than to keep at it with trying to get you to accept his apology.</p><p>You knew Dean only meant the best and worried about you, but sometimes he took the blame for far too much.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Gabriel:</strong>
</p><p>“I told you to be careful.”</p><p>You sigh and dropped your head back, closing your eyes.</p><p>“I know, Gabriel, and I tried to be.”</p><p>“Well it didn’t work, did it?”</p><p>Lifting your head again you attempt to glare down at him, only earning a cheeky smirk in return.</p><p>“Come on, you know I’m only playing.”</p><p>“Is there ever a time you aren’t?”</p><p>“Of course there is!”</p><p>You raised your eyebrow as you glanced over his white coat before your eyes landed on the cold end of the stethoscope hanging around his neck.</p><p>“Now isn’t one of those times,” he quipped as one of his hands dove into the deep pocket of his doctor’s coat.</p><p>It was a shame you’d hurt your side during a fight, otherwise you’d have throttled him by now.</p><p>You flinch back as a lollipop appears mere inches away from your nose, held tightly by Gabriel who still seemed to have a possessive grip on it.</p><p>“Now Shut up, eat this and let me get to work,” he smiled.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Lucifer:</strong>
</p><p>You gritted your teeth as you pulled the gauze away, the fabric very slowly ripping from the large, scabbed gash on your calf.</p><p>An exaggerated hiss was heard across from you, followed by a low whistle.</p><p>“Looks like it hurts.”</p><p>“Thanks for the commentary, Lucifer,” you rolled your eyes.</p><p>He only grinned in response, shifting a little against the edge of the table he was leaning against.</p><p>Lucifer tilted his head as he watched you wipe away traces of left over blood and bits of fiber from the wound, his arms crossed over his chest.</p><p>“I could help,” he piped up after a while.</p><p>You chose to ignore him, not liking the idea of his ‘help’.</p><p>“Seriously,” he grinned while pushing himself away from the table, making his way over to sit beside you on the bed. “I could hunt them down for you and torture them a little, make them squeal until they promise to do your bidding until I let them die, I don’t know when that’ll be, but hey.”</p><p>A little laugh escaped you beyond your control and you briefly glanced towards him.</p><p>For the ‘ultimate evil’, Lucifer had this odd ability to be adorable.</p><p>Not that he’d allow you to tell anyone.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Sam:</strong>
</p><p>“Sorry,” Sam mumbled.</p><p>You had winced as he peeled the collar of your shirt away from a diagonal slash along the top of your chest.</p><p>Thankfully the wound didn’t reach the more intimate part of your chest, although you liked Sam, you didn’t feel quite ready for him to see your underwear just yet, even if it was just your top half.</p><p>“It’s alright,” you smiled reassuringly.</p><p>You looked down to watch the younger Winchester clean your wound with an antiseptic wipe that he’d taken from the bathroom cabinet, part of you hoped that the thing was still in date as who knows how long it had been kept stored in there, but you also knew that you didn’t have room to complain if it cleaned your cut.</p><p>“Thanks for this.”</p><p>Sam’s eyes briefly flickered up to meet yours and he offered a kind smile.</p><p>“It’s fine, it’s probably easier for me to see to it than for you to work from an awkward angle.”</p><p>You nodded in confirmation then gritted your teeth as he dabbed at the cut with the wipe, causing it to sting.</p><p>He kept looking at you apologetically, but continued cleaning to get it over and done with as quickly as possible for you.</p><p>“Looks like you got off easy,” he commented while putting a blood covered wipe on the bedside table to his right, “it’s mostly an artificial wound, more blood than cut.”</p><p>“Yeah, I feel so lucky,” you pouted with a playful sniffle.</p><p>Sam laughed and placed a small gauze over the cut, using some medical tape he’d also found with the wipes to hold it in place.</p><p>“I can kiss it better if it’ll help,” he chuckled.</p><p>“Don’t test your luck, pal.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. You Had A Day Off</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><strong>Castiel:</strong><br/>
 <br/>
You both sat, albeit awkwardly, on a small and deteriorating couch that decorated part of your motel room.</p><p>Sat on a small coffee table in front of you and the angel was your own laptop, loaded on full screen so you could both get the best view of the show you were trying to watch.</p><p>Granted the view wasn’t amazing, but it was still fairly relaxing and the best you could do.</p><p>The television in the room was from the eighteenth century and wouldn’t connect to anything but aerial channels, so for now you and Cas were leaning forward, shoulder to shoulder, and watching the show on the cramped screen.</p><p>It wasn’t the most desirable situation, but it did give you an excuse to get close to the angel and you reveled in finally being able to explain things to him, rather than seeming like the clueless human like in most situations.</p><p>Explaining the bits he didn’t understand and watching his face contort a little in confusion as he tilted his head made your heart race, a goofy smile splitting your lips to accompany each soft chuckle.</p><p>Despite short bathroom and food breaks, you’d both stayed like that all day.</p><p>During those breaks you hated making the angel wait, but knew that he didn’t particularly mind.</p><p>As you prepared your snacks you’d make idle and pleasant conversation, the atmosphere remaining mellow.</p><p>It was a wonderful and peaceful way to spend your rare time off.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Crowley:</strong><br/>
 <br/>
The demon lifted his glass and gave it a little shake, making the ice cubes tinkle against the sides.</p><p>Like a good little demon you stepped forward and topped up his glass from the decanter secured in your hands.</p><p>And this was how you spent your days off.</p><p>When you weren’t being summoned to make deals with morons with no clue or grasp on how hard life is, people who think they have been completely screwed over in life despite them not trying to make an effort to right wrongs themselves, you were stuck here with Crowley.</p><p>He’d be eyeing over various scrolls and deals that he’d pick and choose from, wanting to choose only the best place to send his beloved Juliette.</p><p>You can’t say that you were doing this unwillingly, despite it being your time off you enjoyed watching Crowley work.</p><p>His head stayed bowed most of the time as he hunched over whatever source he was reading at the time, he’d only sit up when it needed sorting or he wanted a good gulp of Craig.</p><p>This would usually be accompanied by a mutter of how stupid people were.</p><p>It wasn’t much and people would call you insane, but it felt nice to be around with without him insulting you for a change.</p><p>Or at least, not as often.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Dean:</strong><br/>
 <br/>
You smiled while looking out the Impala’s passenger window as trees zoomed by, accompanied by the occasional fuel station or hut.</p><p>Music blared out of the car speakers and Dean happily drummed away on the steering wheel, you both singing along badly to the songs you knew.</p><p>There was no case to worry about today and Dean planned to make the most of it, so he had taken it upon himself to decide that you were both going fishing.</p><p>He’d already gotten everything you needed the night before, this was before even asking if you wanted to go.</p><p>Sam had decided to stay behind, “Probably to nerd out,” Dean had chuckled after telling you.</p><p>You didn’t complain, it was nice to get some rare alone time with the older Winchester. Not that you didn’t like Sam, but you seemed to get on better with Dean.</p><p>The music was turned down as he pulled into a clearing, a clear, large and beautiful lake stretching out in front of you.</p><p>“Don’t want to scare the fish prematurely,” he smiled while turning the engine off, the rumble of the Impala dying down and causing the area to go silent apart from the singing of birds.</p><p>You weren’t sure when he’d found this place, but you were glad he did.</p><p>Dean left you to set up the chairs and snack items while he dealt with the hooks and bait.</p><p>It was instant relief as you both sat down in the folding chairs with a beer in one hand and a fish hook in the other, it was moments like this that a hunter needed to cherish.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Gabriel:</strong>
</p><p>You sigh and set your bags down, shoulders and arms aching as the weight was dropped.</p><p>Today had been fun.</p><p>Gabriel decided that you were over worked and that you needed a day off, just twenty four hours to be your non-hunter self.</p><p>He didn’t so much as suggest than tell you, you were having a day off.</p><p>He certainly made it a day off to remember.</p><p>All day you’d been flittering from place to place, country to country in a flurry of quick fire sightseeing and shopping sprees.</p><p>You very briefly got to see France and Rome, at one moment you could almost swear you were in Moscow, but it had all ended up molding into one flourish of one fast blur after another.</p><p>Leaving you no time to gather your sights and memories, but the bags in front of you were definitely real and enough of a memento to keep today in the book of; ‘Only with Gabe’.</p><p>“Maybe next time we can only go to one place for the whole day?” You asked, flopping onto the nearest seat you found.</p><p>The angel only shrugged while digging through one of the bags he’d been carrying.</p><p>You look over with an eyebrow raised in curiosity.</p><p>“Sure, but you owe me for today,” he chuckled, pulling out a small piece of fabric and holding it up. “Put this on and we’ll call it even.”</p><p>You eyed the skimpy piece of underwear with exasperation, all you wanted to do was sleep, but it seemed that perhaps the day wasn’t over after all.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Lucifer:</strong>
</p><p>“I’m bored, this is boring.”</p><p>You look over at Lucifer with an incredulous look.</p><p>“You’re the devil, you can literally be anyone, anywhere at anytime and you’re bored?”</p><p>“Yes,” he pouted at you. “With the Winchesters hunting me-“</p><p>“Since when did you care about what the Winchesters do?”</p><p>“I don’t.”</p><p>You rolled your eyes and turned away from the strangely hyperactive fallen angel that was lounging on your bed like a gossiping teenage girl.</p><p>“Can you stop whining? I’d like to enjoy my day off.”</p><p>“But I’m bored,” he sulked, dragging out ‘bored’ for as long as he could.</p><p>There it was again, that pulsating in your temple that seemed to spark up whenever he was around.</p><p>Setting the old handheld console down that was in your hand, you closed your eyes and gently massaged your temple.</p><p>Now, Lucifer was a being that you were endeared to, even if it felt kind of obligated as he could kill you if you didn’t put up with him, but sometimes he whined worse than a child when he had downtime and couldn’t fill it.</p><p>You were taking a short break, that was all.</p><p>Just one day was all you wanted, a day to catch up on some leisurely activities that didn’t involve lore and ghosts, a day to pig out or watch all the movies you’d missed out on during your work hours which never seemed to end.</p><p>All this demon versus angel business was doing your nut in and you needed five minutes to yourself.</p><p>“Hey, how about we go and find some poor soul to torment?”</p><p>You certainly weren’t going to get that with Lucifer around.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Sam:</strong><br/>
 <br/>
There was silence in the motel room, aside from the occasional rustle from the turning of paper pages.</p><p>It was approaching late evening and after going out for a meal that was fancier than fast food for a change, you had both returned to the motel and decided to catch up on some leisurely reading.</p><p>The both of you had had these books on the back burner for months, if not longer, and every time you were close to starting them a case would come up and ruin the perfect opportunity to flip the first pages open.</p><p>The atmosphere was peaceful and calming, both of you sat in comfortable silence on separate beds.</p><p>It wasn’t that you didn’t want to sit next to him on the same bed, but long periods of reading tended to be accompanied with shifting at random intervals.</p><p>So rather than cause Sam annoyance with constant moving and bouncing as he tried to read, you decided it’d be best if you had a whole bed to yourself in order to move at your leisure.</p><p>Every now and then you’d both exchange little tidbits about the books you were reading, giving little bits of information about certain things you found entertaining, interesting or kind of ridiculous.</p><p>It was all going wonderfully until Dean decided to interrupt and impose on your little silent bonding time.</p><p>Ah well, it was his room too and the session had been fun while it lasted.</p><p>As you and Sam sorted yourselves out, packing away your books for the night, you found yourself already anticipating the next time.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. You're in the Afterglow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><strong>Castiel:</strong><br/> <br/>You both led awkwardly beside one another, bodies stiff and arms over the covers while staring up at the ceiling.</p><p>What exactly were you meant to do with an angel after getting rather intimate with them?</p><p>Even Castiel himself didn’t seem to know.</p><p>Should you cuddle?</p><p>He hadn’t made a move to suggest it was okay, but you had been closer than a simple cuddle mere minutes ago so why not?</p><p>What harm could it do?</p><p>You give him a quick side glance then experimentally shifted closer, he didn’t make a move to shift away from you as you got closer, actually he didn’t move at all and you took that as a sign that he was comfortable with after sex cuddling.</p><p>Still feeling kind of unsure, you hesitantly put your hand on his stomach and pressed up against his side, resting your head on his chest.</p><p>Castiel tensed up a little beneath you and gave you a brief glance, slowly he moved his arm around you and rubbed your side.</p><p>“Are you okay Cas?” You ask after a few more moments of silence, tilting your head to look up at him.</p><p>“Yes, I’m just unsure on what to do now,” he replied while continuing to stare at the ceiling. “It wasn’t like this when I was with Meg.”</p><p>You were glad he wasn’t looking at you now as you rolled your eyes and pulled away from him, he just had to ruin the moment by bringing that up.</p><p>It’d be a little while before you both got used to these moments, if you did have more, and perhaps over the next few goes you could teach him after glow etiquette.</p><p>Like not talking about your past flings directly after.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Crowley:</strong><br/> <br/>It would be a small understatement to say that you were in shock, you were staring at the wall, wide eyed in surprise but also smiling dumbly.</p><p>That had come out of nowhere.</p><p>You knew he needed some stress relief, hell you were even the one to offer it, but you didn’t expect him to use you for it and in such an intimate way.</p><p>There were a few things you wanted to say, yet you couldn’t help but think that saying something may ruin the moment and cause him to kick you out without a second thought.</p><p>It had already been a few minutes since you’d both reached your end and you were still propped in the position you’d been in when he withdrew from you, as if you believed that he had completely forgotten you were there and moving would cause him to come to that sudden realization that you were still bent over his desk, exposed and vulnerable.</p><p>Crowley had already moved back to the other side of his desk and sat down, in perfect view of you.</p><p>He had already gotten redressed, actually, you weren’t sure if he had even removed his suit fully before having his way with you.</p><p>It wouldn’t surprise you in the least if he hadn’t.</p><p>His eyes briefly flicker and meet yours before they diverted back to the scroll in his hands.</p><p>“Get up and sort yourself out, I have a job for you to do.”</p><p>You sighed slightly and reached back, pulling your clothes back into place to make yourself presentable for the time being, you would have a clean up before doing whatever he was demanding of you next.</p><p>“Yes, sir.”</p><p> </p><p><strong>Dean:</strong><br/> <br/>It had been a wonderful night, first playing cards with some light drinking and sloppy burgers, the atmosphere of the room was fun and more than a little flirty as you both slowly gravitated towards one another until the tether broke.</p><p>It had been exciting and got your pulse racing like nothing else, to finally breach the barrier after so long.</p><p>Despite him having more of a reputation as a ladies man, Dean turned out to be a lot tamer in bed than you had anticipated, not in a bad way, just a surprising one.</p><p>It was just too bad that only three minutes after he’d finished with you and you’d started afterglow petting that he’d fallen asleep.</p><p>You couldn’t really blame him, the life of a hunter was a tiring one.</p><p>From digging up bodies to packing all your strength into a punch, the hunter job took a lot of strain and it was rare that you’d get to experience more than two or three hours of deep sleep before you had to get up and go again.</p><p>So it was no surprise that Dean had fallen asleep within minutes of using up the last of his energy, but it still would have been nice if he’d managed to stay up that little bit longer for a tiny bit of pillow talk.</p><p>At least you got a nice view of the naked man as he slept, the sheets barely covering his work-toned body.</p><p>Your head turned to the male beside you, your eyes slowly trailing down his bare back as you thought of what just happened.</p><p>A goofy grin spread on your lips and you moved closer to cuddle up to him, maybe sleeping wasn’t such a bad idea.</p><p>Then you both could have another go in the morning.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Gabriel:</strong>
</p><p>You weren’t surprised to say the least.</p><p>Knowing Gabriel was known for flamboyance, extravagance and making a scene, you’d have been more surprised if he had wanted only shy, flower sex.</p><p>It went without saying that going to bed with Gabriel certainly wasn’t monotonous or boring, something told you there was so much more to look forward to as well.</p><p>Gabriel enjoyed keeping things different, just as much as he enjoyed making a scene out of everything.</p><p>So of course your sex life with him was no different.</p><p>He hadn’t been shy in telling you that he wanted to role play from the get go, a different scenario for each time and he’d be sure to keep you dressed right for the occasion.</p><p>An advantage of being the plaything to an angel was that you didn’t have to worry about wardrobe space for all the toys and outfits, he’d just snap his fingers and you’d be set for the occasion.</p><p>This also meant that you receive changes to the motel room you’d be staying in to make sure it fit the setting.</p><p>However, sometimes he enjoyed leaving you in the setting he’d created as you slept, so you’d wake up aiming to get on with case scouting only to find you were stuck in a cave or surrounded by lavish pillows worthy of a princess from a fairytale.</p><p>And he wouldn’t return for hours, no matter how often you called.</p><p>This time he hadn’t even waited for you to fall asleep before disappearing, he’d simply given you a quick kiss with a promise to be back soon and then vanished.</p><p>You wouldn’t have minded too much, but he’d left you in a dilapidated cabin with nothing but the blanket to keep you warm.</p><p>“Damn him and his need for realism,” you mumbled to yourself, curling up on the squeaking couch to try and keep warm enough to fall asleep.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Lucifer:</strong>
</p><p>There was no other way to say this, you ached.</p><p>All over.</p><p>That wasn’t a surprise considering that it was Lucifer you had just finished with, a being with his kind of power was going to use it and whether it broke your hips, back or whole body in the process didn’t matter.</p><p>The worst part was that he refused to help with any of the pain.</p><p>He was the Devil, it was expected for him to be fairly merciless, but surely there was a limit when you claimed some form of warped ‘affection’ for someone.</p><p>He seemed to take an enjoyment in your discomfort, while all you wanted was a little bit of comfort before you fell asleep from over exertion.</p><p>You had gotten used to him not helping after the third time, he was stubborn and you knew it would be a cold day in Hell when he bothered to alleviate a problem rather than cause it.</p><p>Unless he needed something of course, desperate times call for desperate measures.</p><p>Tonight it seemed that he was more than happy to let you lie in your own misery, your face buried into the pillow.</p><p>Granted it made it hard to breathe, but even moving your head a little to the side for air was too much to even think of trying to achieve.</p><p>“You’ll be fine,” he chuckled.</p><p>A sharp course of pain jolted up your spine as he patted your back, hard.</p><p>“You bastard,” you cursed into the pillow, wanting to glare at him but being unable to find the motivation to move through the pain.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Sam:</strong><br/> <br/>It would have been an understatement to say that you were in slight shock.</p><p>You could say that you ached significantly, even as you lay perfectly still in the bed Sam had settled you down on to finish you off.</p><p>Originally you both had started on the table you’d been researching on, but he’d soon pulled you over to the bed and let you straddle his lap while his hands roamed over you.</p><p>Sam always gave that first impression of a gentle giant, he was always the sympathetic one who offered a reassuring look and a comforting smile to the grieving families of case victims, the one who took care of you if you got hurt.</p><p>Sure, you knew that he had a tough side, as you’d expect any hunter too really, but you didn’t see this coming.</p><p>Sam Winchester definitely took the award for ‘most dominant lover’.</p><p>The minute you both understood that it was going further than mere kissing and began to remove each other’s shirts, he took an immediate turn.</p><p>You hadn't expected him to be this outwardly dominant but boy had he proved you wrong.</p><p>Even when you were the one on top he still had a completely dominating attitude.</p><p>Yet the second you both came down from your high he was fussing over you and making sure you were alright and comfortable.</p><p>It was sweet and one of the reasons why you were glad you’d overcome his past misdeeds to reach this development in your relationship.</p><p>Sam was facing you as he relaxed at your side, his head resting on his hand as he looked at you with concern.</p><p>“Are you sure you’re alright?” He frowned slightly.</p><p>You only laughed in response and reached up, moving a bit of his messed up hair away from his face.</p><p>“I’m fine Sam, just a little startled.”</p><p>You may ache at the moment, but you desperately hoped to do this again in the near future.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. There Was Music</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Dean's segment focuses on alcoholism, so please skip if that makes you uncomfortable.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><strong>Castiel:</strong><br/> <br/>You were stood in the small kitchen area of the motel you were staying in, it wasn’t a luxury you had often, actually you were lucky if you managed to find one with a small counter, a coffee maker or a tiny fridge.</p><p>This room, however, had near enough a whole freaking kitchen at your disposal and you were definitely taking advantage of the plug in duel-ringed stove that came with the room or that someone left behind, either way you weren't complaining.</p><p>So there you were, cooking up some luxury-to-a-hunter breakfast to indulge in that morning.</p><p>A rare occurrence where you barely spent two dollars on breakfast, as opposed to the usual seven or so at a diner.</p><p>To add some entertainment to the morning you’d decided to stick on the radio that was nestled in the corner of the counter, rather than putting the TV on and listening to the depressing news that’d no doubt ruin your pleasant mood, at least with the local radio you'd have songs to accompany the fall of the economy.</p><p>Just as you noticed a change in one of the ingredients, showing that it was beginning to take its final delicious form, you recognised the opening chords that had started to crackle through the speakers.</p><p>It was a song you had heard during many drives to and fro and at some point the lyrics became more personal than you'd care to admit.</p><p>They started to bring your favourite angel to mind, of how his mere presence would make your whole day by simply turning up.</p><p>How you wanted nothing more than to unleash everything on him, to confess the truth and never let him go.</p><p>
  <em>~I’m not denying, we’re flying above it all.~</em>
</p><p>“<em>Hold my hand, don’t let me fall….you’ve such amazing grace, I’ve never felt this way</em>,” you smiled as you found yourself crooning along, even swaying a little to the music as you cooked, the beat taking you over just a little. “<em>Oh, show me heaven, cover me…leave me breathless.</em>”</p><p>Flashes of Castiel danced in your head as the song continued on, images of the moments you cherished between you both, from the mundane to more serious ones.</p><p>The developments within your relationship that you hoped would lead to more someday.</p><p>Memorie you would remember and hold precious forever, one that made hunting that little bit easier.</p><p>
  <em>“Oh, show me heaven, babe.”</em>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p> </p><p><strong>Crowley:</strong><br/><br/>Crowley’s eyebrow twitched a little as another howl came from the hallway outside his throne room.</p><p>He wouldn’t have minded so much if it was his beloved Hellhound, that would at least be tolerable by means of affection.</p><p>Instead he had to deal with a particular demon standing guard outside.</p><p>A demon who had taken it upon themselves to serenade him from behind the door with a particularly annoying song, loudly and out of tune, on repeat.</p><p>
  <em>“MR CROWLEEEYYYY!”</em>
</p><p>He visibly winced at the off key tune, it sending an unpleasant shudder down his spine.</p><p>“Will you shut up?!” He yelled out in annoyance.</p><p>The hallway quickly grew silent and he sighed in relief, rubbing his forehead to try and ease the throbbing that was building inside his temples.</p><p>Crowley muttered to himself about being surrounded by annoying morons, not that he really had anyone but himself to blame.</p><p>His relief, however, was short lived, as after a couple of too short minutes a familiar howl rung out and echoed off the walls of the dungeon like corridor.</p><p>He stared towards the door, cursing the day he had let you into his life.</p><p>It was going to be a long eternity.<br/><br/></p><p> </p><p><strong>Dean:</strong><br/> <br/>You glanced over at Dean with a frown of concern.</p><p>The case hadn’t gone well, the two victims you had rushed to save had still passed and it was hitting him hard.</p><p>So here you both here, sitting in the motel room with him back to his drinking habit.</p><p>You knew it was all part of who he was, but you were beginning to get a little tired of his latest burst of alcoholism.</p><p>Every time something went wrong he’d have a drink, much more so than he used to in the past.</p><p>Sure you knew that he enjoyed the odd beer back then, but now it was almost a daily thing and it scared you.</p><p>It scared you that one day it’d get between you both.</p><p>Dean hadn’t wanted to talk when you returned to your shared room, he’d instead immediately grabbed a pack of beer and flopped into a seat at the small wooden table, staring out the window as he drank.</p><p>You however had taken place on the bed to do your own thing, popping in some headphones and turning on some music to help sooth your worries, not that it was helping as you watched him drown his sorrows away yet again.</p><p>The music became a dim background noise as you stared with growing concern, you were a little tired of this horrible habit, even if you understood it.</p><p>
  <em>~Well the lady and me both agree, some days we just don’t get along,</em>
  <br/>
  <em> But the whiskey in me, both agree, maybe we’re both just better off.</em>
  <br/>
  <em> Well the preacher believes I don’t need all of these demons hanging on,</em>
  <br/>
  <em> But we both know if they don’t, I’ll get lonely, need a few to tag along.~</em>
</p><p>You sighed and looked away from the older Winchester, finally tuning back into the music you were listening to, just in time to catch the chorus.</p><p>The lyrics to the chorus resonating with you a little too closely for you liking in that moment.</p><p>~<em>Oh, hanging here by a thread, hear a voice inside my head.~</em></p><p>“<em>I’ll lay beside you every night, and dread the day you might be gone,</em>” you mumbled along, absentmindedly nodding along as your main focus was taken by your phone.</p><p>It wasn’t unusual for you to sing along to your music, whether you were good at it or not was another matter, but it didn't matter as you and Dean had shared many happier moments howling along to music in the car, much to Sam's chagrin.</p><p>Typically, Dean didn't mind when your music could be heard just well enough to catch some lyrics or when you'd join in, but he really wasn't in the mood that day.</p><p>Especially given the song you had decided not to skip.</p><p>
  <em>“She said, in case you haven’t noticed that, played second fiddle to the bottle for a little too long, no, and I ain’t about to anymore.”</em>
</p><p>Dean’s eyes flickered to the bottle in his left hand and then back towards you as he let out a small sigh, one that went ignored by you as you messaged another hunting acquaintance.</p><p>One day he would find the strength to talk to you when something was bothering him and not just rush to emotional numbing as a remedy, he just a little more time to adjust to not having to suppress his emotions.</p><p>For now, they were his burdens and he wasn't willing to share.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Gabriel:</strong>
</p><p>Gabe watched you with an amused smirk as you went about your packing, moving along to the music you’d picked.</p><p>You were in a particularly good mood that morning and didn’t want all the extra energy to go to waste, so you’d put your phone on speaker and blared out some music.</p><p>
  <em>~Take a bottle,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Shake it up.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Break the bubble,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Break it up.~</em>
</p><p>This was a particular song that you had taken a strong liking to since getting to know Gabriel, his penchant for sweets made the song too fitting and you couldn't help but to dedicate it to him.</p><p>You started to feel a little cheeky and mischievous yourself as you tucked away a folded shirt into the duffel bag you traveled with, Gabriel's influence was rubbing off on you and knowing that his eyes were trailing you around the room only made you that much more courageous.</p><p>You bit your bottom lip a little and conjured up a plan, a plan to tease and tantalize him like he never had been before.</p><p>Which mostly consisted of you strutting your stuff and awkwardly dancing around the room.</p><p><em>“Pour some sugar on me,”</em> you sang along, purposefully moving your hips as seductively as you could while bending over the bed to 'grab something'.</p><p>You didn’t see as the angel’s eyebrow rose and he sat up straighter in his seat across the room.</p><p>In a quick flourish, you stood up and turned towards him, giving him the most seductive look you could whilst striding towards him.</p><p>His smile of amusement only spurred you on, glad he was relishing in your self-induced humiliation as much as you were.</p><p><em>“Oh, in the name of love. </em> <em>Pour some sugar on me.”</em></p><p>Slowly slipping onto his lap, you leaned closer to whisper; <em>“Come on, fire me up.”</em></p><p>His hands automatically went to your waist as his eyes scanned over you slowly, his smile turning into more of a smirk.</p><p><em>“Pour your sugar on me, </em> <em>I can’t get enough. </em> <em>I’m hot, sticky sweet, f</em> <em>rom my head, to my feet, yeah.”</em></p><p>Rather promptly your packing, as well as the song, had been long forgotten.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Lucifer:</strong>
</p><p>You held tightly onto the seat of the car, your nails scraping against the fabric and your teeth clasped tightly together.</p><p>Lucifer had found the target of his next bout of carnage and was eager to get there.</p><p>You, on the other hand, hadn’t wanted to fly around with him because it was beginning to make you extremely ill.</p><p>He wasn't going to let you think that you could be rid of him due to mere sickness.</p><p>So in compromise, Lucifer agreed to going in the car on the condition that he was to drive.</p><p>You instantly regretted agreeing.</p><p>It was hardly surprising that he wasn’t the slowest driver you’d known and within ten minutes you had already experienced at least four near misses, mostly with oncoming traffic.</p><p>Once you got away from the main roads your nerves settled a little, but only because there were less cars and pedestrians to have collisions with.</p><p>The speed you could just about deal with, it was the chance of crashing that had you the most worried.</p><p>Whether you were with the Devil or not.</p><p>To help settle your nerves, you decided to put some music on, anything that'd keep your mind occupied on anything except the growing regrets of allowing Lucifer to drive.</p><p>You managed to fish out your aux cord and plugged in your phone without thinking of the song you had been listening to the last time you used it.</p><p>Needless to say that it wasn't the best tempo for an already erratic driver.</p><p>Before you’d even reached the third verse, you already regretted everything in life up to that moment.</p><p>
  <em>"Now you play a pretty good fiddle, boy, But give the devil his due.<br/>I'll bet a fiddle of gold against your soul, 'cause I think I'm better than you."</em>
</p><p>You side glanced at Lucifer as he eagerly bounced in his seat, his hands drumming along to the music as he sang enthusiastically at the top of his lungs.</p><p>
  <em>“The boy said, "my name's Johnny and it might be a sin, but I'll take your bet and you're gonna regret 'cause I'm the best there's ever been”."</em>
</p><p>He spared you a sidewards glance and noticed your tense unease which only made him grin widely, almost creepily, which in turn sent a shiver down your spine.</p><p><em>“Johnny, rosin up your bow and play your fiddle hard, </em> <em>'cause hell's broke loose in Georgia, and the devil deals the cards.<br/>And if you win, you get this shiny fiddle made of gold.”</em></p><p>Keeping the same weird-ass smile, he slowly leaned closer to you while his foot pressed down harder on the accelerator.</p><p>
  <em>“But if you lose, the devil gets your soul.”</em>
</p><p>You closed your eyes tightly and let out a long breath as the car somehow sped up further while he flew around a bend in the road.</p><p>He was probably going to get your soul before the end of this trip, you were damn certain you weren’t going to survive.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Sam:</strong><br/> <br/>The road you were driving down was particularly dark and secluded, for miles all you’d see were trees lit up by the car headlights and it had been thirty minutes since you'd passed another car.</p><p>You had been on the road for about fifty minutes and an awkward silence hung in the air.</p><p>Before you had left for the long drive there had been a meaningless disagreement between the two of you, neither willing to back down from your stance as the tension continued to rise.</p><p>Harsh words were exchanged and you mentally admitted that you felt bad for some of the levels you stooped to, but the way he acted like a stropping child had pissed you off so much that you took it upon yourself to enact revenge while continuing to refuse to apologise.</p><p>He'd started the ridiculous argument, so you were going to get petty revenge for it.</p><p>It took a few more minutes before it finally happened, that sweet moment you thought you’d be waiting much longer for.</p><p>
  <em>~When he hears the fire bell chime, Fireman Sam is there on time.~</em>
</p><p>From the corner of your eye you noticed Sam quirk an eyebrow and briefly glance over at you with a confused look.</p><p>
  <em>~Putting on his coat and hat, in less than seven seconds flat.~</em>
</p><p>“Don’t look at me, it’s not mine,” you shrugged before holding up your phone to prove that it wasn’t your phone chiming the catchy tune.</p><p>“Well it’s not going to be mine,” he replied snappily, shifting around the pull his own phone out of his pocket.</p><p>
  <em>~He’s always on the scene, Fireman Sam.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And his engine's bright and clean, Fireman Sam</em>
  <br/>
  <em>You cannot ignore, Sam is the hero next door.~</em>
</p><p>You turned your head away as casually as you could and bit your lip to stop yourself from laughing, in the window’s reflection you could see the illumination of Sam’s phone screen, showing he had received a message.</p><p>Not one from you, oh no, it had to be an organic message from sources outside of your disagreement.</p><p>
  <em>~Driving down the busy street, greeting people that he meets.~</em>
</p><p>He slowed the car down to pull over, ever the responsible man that he was.</p><p>~<em>Someone could be in a jam, so hurry, hurry, Fireman Sam.~</em></p><p>“Really?” He huffed, you could practically hear him rolling his eyes in aggravation while you failed to keep yourself from smiling the widest you had all day.</p><p>
  <em>~He’s always on th-~</em>
</p><p>“I suppose you think you’re funny,” Sam griped while opening the message, shutting off the ringtone.</p><p>You finally looked at him and shrugged, trying to control your smile, “A little.”</p><p>“Well you’re not.”</p><p>He quickly read the message then tossed the phone onto your lap.</p><p>“Reply to Dean saying we’re on our way and then change it.”</p><p>You picked the phone up and began to do as he commanded, even though you personally still thought that it was hilarious you’d let him have his minute of stroppy triumph.</p><p>He still had an alarm to wake up to tomorrow.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Featured songs:</p><p>Show Me Heaven - Maria McKee.<br/>Mr. Crowley - Ozzy Osborne.<br/>Sister Sin - Nickelback (I know, I know. I admit that I like Nickelback, you can laugh at me in the comments but I feel no shame.)<br/>Pour Some Sugar on Me - Def Leppard.<br/>Devil Went Down to Georgia - Take your pick of artist, though I usually listen to The Charlie Daniels Band version.<br/>The OG Fireman Sam Theme Song.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. You're Suffering Weight Insecurities (Plus Size) - Request</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><strong>Castiel:</strong><br/> <br/>“I’m not sure I understand your complaint.”</p><p>You looked at Castiel in exasperation, “Really? You can’t see that I look like a hippo?”</p><p>The angel gives you a weird look, “You look very human to me.”</p><p>“I meant that I’m big,” you rolled your eyes a little, irritated despite knowing that he wasn't accustomed to social cues.</p><p>“You are still very small compared to an angel.”</p><p>“I don’t mean height wise, Cas.”</p><p>“Nor do I,” he gave you what seemed to be an attempt at a comforting smile, “Zacharia had four heads, imagine how big he had to be to sustain them.”</p><p>You stared at the angel for a lingering moment and then smiled, it wasn’t exactly the most comforting to hear but you knew that he only meant the best and that alone meant enough to you.</p><p>Knowing that he didn’t really understand human emotions made the fact he was at least trying to comfort you about your insecurities all that more sweet.</p><p>Although it hadn’t fully worked, you were willing to accept his attempts and let him believe that he had truly helped with his words of angelic wisdom.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Crowley:</strong><br/> <br/>“So go and find another meat suit.”</p><p>That wasn’t exactly the answer you were looking for when confiding some of your issues to the king and now you realised exactly why you would usually kept it to yourself.</p><p>“That wasn’t the answer I was looking for,” you stared at your boss with a blank expression.</p><p>“What else would you expect?”</p><p>“For you to say that I look fine or something, I know it’s a stretch but maybe something positive?”</p><p>Crowley looked up from his scroll, giving you a look of complete confusion mixed with utter annoyance.</p><p>“Don’t be ridiculous, like I’d ever say anything positive, you know I work on negative reinforcement.”</p><p>“I’m not,” you protested, choosing to ignore the second part of very true statement.</p><p>“You are,” he replied bluntly with a scowl, “you chose that vessel, you knew what they looked like when you took it and you don’t eat so clearly you’re not at fault here.”</p><p>“Bu-“</p><p>“Let me finish.”</p><p>You clamped your mouth shut and looked away from him, sulking at his snapping at you.</p><p>“You picked a vessel that you knew had a few extra pounds to it, so don’t complain about it when you, clearly unlike them when they controlled the blasted thing, have more control over your weight choice.”</p><p>In a childish reaction you puffed out the vessel’s slightly chubby cheeks and crossed your arms, sending a small and very short lived glare towards the demon.</p><p>“Besides, it’s not like I care how big it is.”</p><p>That little add on made you completely forget how irritated you had been just mere seconds ago, in an extremely emotional shift all because he had given you something you could vaguely take as a compliment.</p><p>“That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me,” you grinned.</p><p>Placing the last scroll on his desk, you gave him an affectionate smile before turning on your heel and leaving the room.</p><p>Crowley stared after you in complete bemusement until he gave an exhausted groan.</p><p>“What have I just done?”</p><p> </p><p><strong>Dean:</strong><br/> <br/>“Relax will you? I don’t mind a little extra cushion.”</p><p>You looked at Dean in mild surprise.</p><p>Dean Winchester had always been known for being one for the ladies, the kind of playboy that could give competition to Tony Stark, but you always figured he’d be the type to go for the thinner type and this led to growing insecurities as your attraction grew.</p><p>“Seriously?”</p><p>“Yeah,” he shrugged, “just because I don’t say it doesn’t mean I think the opposite.”</p><p>“It’s just,” you paused and then sighed, sitting down on the end of your motel bed. “You never seem to put it into practice from what I’ve seen.”</p><p>“Exactly, from what you’ve seen,” Dean gave you a serious yet somehow soft look. “Once again just because it’s not a regular thing doesn’t mean I think the opposite.”</p><p>“I guess,” you sighed as your eyes drifted to the stained floor.</p><p>You had to admit that you felt kind of bad for instantly judging him like that and making immediate assumptions, though it was an easy conclusion to jump to from the months you’d been travelling with him as you hadn’t seen him so much as eye up anyone around your size.</p><p>“Look, that monster was a dick, don’t let him get to you okay?”</p><p>You look back up at him as he spoke, “But th-“</p><p>“I know what they said and that means nothing,” Dean shrugged, “they were just trying to get to you, and it clearly worked, it’s what they do.”</p><p>He walked over and sat next to you, placing a comforting hand on your knee.</p><p>“I hate seeing you like this, you've always been confident” he smiled at you, that smile you loved and found utterly contagious, “and that's why that son of bitch got shot in the face after saying that shit to you, you know better and you showed him.”</p><p>You hadn't realised just how much you needed to hear some words of assertion, but trust Dean to come through with his own brand of emotional reinforcement.</p><p>It went without saying that you more expected Sam to be the one to have this talk than Dean, but the fact it was coming from him meant all the more.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Gabriel:</strong>
</p><p>“You’re not helping me.”</p><p>Gabriel looks up at you, his eyebrow quirked in questioning.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“You and your spoiling, it’s not helping me.”</p><p>“With?”</p><p>“This!” You yell in exasperation, pointing towards your stomach.</p><p>“And how is your weight my problem?” He asked, still looking a little dumbfounded. “It’s not a problem to anyone but yourself, you’re the one who feels the need to diet.”</p><p>“And you keep spoiling me with lavish foods to try.”</p><p>“And you keep going for it instead of saying no.”</p><p>You stared at him, pulling your bottom lip between your teeth to gnaw on it a little.</p><p>He had you there, you could easily have declined his offers of tasty, exotic food but then you’d have felt bad for rejecting his kind offerings and you knew that later on in the evening you would sit there wishing you had tried at least a bit of it.</p><p>“What is this really about?”</p><p>Your eyes darted to him as he talked after a brief silence.</p><p>“Hmm?”</p><p>“This sudden dieting and worrying over your looks? It’s a little concerning.”</p><p>You merely shrugged and looked away, crossing one arm around your waist as a makeshift shield to hide your imperfections.</p><p>A complex had built in the last town you had visited, you had been in a diner when you’d heard two older women make some less than stellar comments about your profile while you were minding your own business.</p><p>You hadn’t talked to Gabriel about it even though it bothered you and had instead decided that perhaps they were right and that the angel deserved better, which was unusual for you as you weren't afraid to strut your stuff and have a little showoff session.</p><p>Finally, you deigned to tell him what had happened that day and how it had plagued your mind.</p><p>Not even a beat passed before arms snaked around you from behind, large hands resting on your stomach.</p><p>“You’re being ridiculous, who cares what others think? The only opinion that matters in the long run is yours, but remember I also love you exactly how you are.”</p><p>You couldn’t help but to smile a little bit and lean back against him, silence enveloping the room for all of a minute.</p><p>“Now that that's over, how about Moroccan tonight?”</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Lucifer:</strong>
</p><p>Lucifer’s eyes slowly trailed over you, making you shift uncomfortably under his scrutinizing gaze.</p><p>“Please stop it.”</p><p>“No,” he replied bluntly, leaning forward in his seat as if he wanted a closer inspection of an art piece.</p><p>“You’re making me uncomfortable.”</p><p>“And that’s my problem? You asked me how I could care for you with your ‘glaring physical flaws’ and now you don’t like it when I try to find them?” The Devil smirked and once again leaned back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest. “Seems a bit warped to me.”</p><p>You frowned a little and tugged on the long jumper you had picked for the day, the material baggy enough to hide any bulges he could possibly find.</p><p>“That’s kind of futile, I can have you out of that before you take your next breath.”</p><p>You let out a small huff, wanting to glare at him but not having the heart in that moment.</p><p>It was a ‘fat day’ today.</p><p>Sometimes your mood jumped up and down so quickly that it hurt, one minute you were comfortable with your size, the next you thought it was passable and the next, like today, you felt absolutely hideous.</p><p>Like mutton dressed like lamb.</p><p>Lucifer didn’t understand your problem, not that he really would considering who he was and the image he had of himself.</p><p>“You’re being stupid,” he stated bluntly with a shrug, “you’re not the one whose vessel is slowly decomposing, have you seen this face?”</p><p>He pointed at it to emphasize the blotches of missing skin, this caused you to bleat out an involuntary laugh.</p><p>“Look, I find you bearable at any size.”</p><p>“That actually means a lot,” you nodded a little, offering him the faintest of reassured smiles.</p><p>It’d do until next time.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Sam:</strong><br/> <br/>You glanced at Sam, frowning a little while fidgeting in your seat.</p><p>It was hard to tell him directly, but his health kick thing was actually starting to make you uncomfortable.</p><p>Or perhaps self conscious would be the right word for it.</p><p>Sam always had a tall and lean figure, you on the other hand seemed to have almost the complete opposite and that always made you a little bit unsure as to why he took a liking to you and how serious he was about this relationship.</p><p>The thought that he was just settling for you stirred up often, what with being a hunter and all it wasn’t easy to find someone you could bond with all that often and you two had just happened to strike gold at the right time.</p><p>This feeling only got worse after the whole weirdness with that irritating Amelia chick, he seemed to have become more in touch with his health, calorie intake and over all focus on organic food.</p><p>At first you’d tried joining in, but exercise beyond the ones needed for hunting wasn’t your forte and the running did a number on you.</p><p>You’d tried various times to shift the extra weight, but it seemed like it was there to stay.</p><p>Though that didn't stop you from trying to diet, which typically occurred around the time that Dean decided to put his culinary skills to the test.</p><p>So there you were, eating your healthy snack as he inspected one of the burgers Dean had brought him fresh from the bunker kitchen.</p><p>The thing was huge, practically a whole cow in between two buns, it was a total heart attack waiting to happen.</p><p>To be very blunt it looked and smelled extremely delicious.</p><p>Sam watched Dean sit down with his own plate, a beer in his other hand.</p><p>"Are you planning on giving us heart attacks?" He laughed, lifting up one of the burgers from his plate.</p><p>“Dude, it doesn’t matter,” Dean replied with a grin, “It’s a Dean Winchester masterpiece and I will be devouring mine.”</p><p>You smiled along with them but remained silent, picking at your own barely diminished snack as Sam enjoyed something that wasn't a salad for a change.</p><p>Almost like old times.</p><p>You turned away for a second to grab something from a bag that you had sat beside your chair and, upon turning back to the table, you found a plate sat in front of you, a burger placed in the center and Sam not so subtly trying to act like he hadn't moved despite there no longer being a plate in front of him.</p><p>“What?” You asked dumbly, looking from the food, to him.</p><p>“What?" He asked not so innocently, "Two is way too much, can't let it go to waste."</p><p>"But you asked for two."</p><p>He merely smiled and got up from his seat, his own burger still in hand as he rounded the table and leaned down to your ear.</p><p>“Take it, you might want to keep your energy up.”</p><p>You looked up at him just in time to catch the briefest of an all too familiar smirk aimed at you before he left the room, something wholly unique between you and the younger Winchester.</p><p>Knowing that he'd be true to his implication, you ate that burger like your life depended on it, insecurities be damned.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. You Confronted Your Fears (Well....Kind Of)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I will be working on any requests after this Christmas period is over, they have not been forgotten, I am merely run off my feet until Christmas Eve.<br/>So, in the mean time, I'll continue throwing out the edited versions of chapters published on other sites from many years ago.</p><p>Featured fears:</p><p>Spiders.<br/>Needles.<br/>Rats.<br/>Storms.<br/>Dolls.<br/>Clowns.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><strong>Castiel:</strong><br/> <br/>He stared at the creature with a tilted head and a look of confusion.</p><p>How did this tiny thing have you cowering in the furthest corner of the room?</p><p>You were so much bigger and far more dangerous than this being, this small thing had no intention of hurting you and yet you were shying away from it and squirming as though your bones were made of jelly.</p><p>“I don’t see what the issue is here.”</p><p>“The issue is that it’s big, it’s hairy and I don’t like them,” you trembled, holding your hands to your chest. "Please, get rid of it.”</p><p>There were times when you were fine around spiders, the smaller ones you could quite happily learn to live with or deal with yourself, such is the life of a hunter living in dingy motels at times.</p><p>However, the bastard currently taking up space on the wall looked big enough to cover your palm and moved too fast for your liking.</p><p>“You want me to kill it?” The angel asked, looking over at you.</p><p>“No, please just take it outside.”</p><p>You may dislike the things, but you tried to at least keep them alive as often as you could.</p><p>If they were small enough you’d take them outside yourself, it was only when they were too big for your liking that you’d have to ‘dispose’ of them in the mafia kind of term.</p><p>It just so happened that the big ones always appeared when you were alone or anyone keeping you company had turned in for the night, which basically meant being dead to the world after a long hunt.</p><p>So it went without saying, as you watched Castiel scoop up the freaky being to take it outside, that you were glad that you now had an angel who would come with a yell of his name.</p><p>No matter how trivial the matter it seems.<br/> <br/> </p><p><strong>Crowley:</strong><br/> <br/>The King of Hell stared at you in disbelief, his face scrunched up in an adorable expression, though you kept that thought to yourself.</p><p>“This measly thing is terrifying you?” He asked incredulously.</p><p>You could only nod in response, it seemed that your voice had been caught in your throat and refused to come out.</p><p>“You’re a demon,” Crowley continued, “who kills, maims and manipulates and you’re scared of a little syringe?"</p><p>“They’re pointy and hurt, okay?”</p><p>“So are knives if they stab you, but you’re not scared of them.”</p><p>“During my human life, I was more likely to need an injection than I was to get stabbed.”</p><p>That wasn't entirely true, but he didn't need to know that either if it helped to prove your point.</p><p>Crowley’s expression changed from one of disbelief to one of completely and utter exasperation, also known as his resting face.</p><p>“You can stare at me like that all you want,” you huffed, crossing your arms over your chest.  “I didn’t like them as a human and I don’t like them as a black mist of hell's worst.”</p><p>Your eyes lingered on the long, pointy piece of equipment sat on an intimidating silver tray, sending an unpleasant shiver down your spine just from looking at it.</p><p>Crowley continued to stare at you as he went from an exasperated look to a faintly amused expression, one that was just barely visible to the naked eye.</p><p>Part of him wanted to tease you with the syringe, a flash thought of revenge for all the hassle you’d caused him almost made him act on the urges he usually wouldn't hesitate with.</p><p>Unfortunately for him, and fortunately for you, he had better things to focus on at that exact moment in time and the syringe was needed.</p><p>So rather than tease you, Crowley rolled his eyes with an irked groan and headed back to the locked room he had originally emerged from.</p><p>“You’re lucky I have torturing to do,” he muttered as the heavy door slammed behind him.</p><p> <br/> <br/><strong>Dean:</strong><br/> <br/>“I am not going in there!”</p><p>Dean looked at you in surprise at your outburst, with raised eyebrows he stepped back and held his hands up.</p><p>“Well I’m not either.”</p><p>You give Dean a haggard look, almost begging him to take your place in the gap between the wall and hidden passage.</p><p>“Come on, Dean,” you whined a little, glancing over your shoulder. “I saw a rat in there.”</p><p>“I know, so did I,” he crossed his arms over his broad chest.</p><p>You stared at Dean in unpleasant shock, you knew of Dean’s fear of flying but had no idea about him having a fear of rats.</p><p>So there you both stood, standing off against each other in front of a hole in the wall that you both refused to go through, both too stubborn to back down or break this impromptu staring competition.</p><p>“You’d be better off going in there anyway,” you shrugged after finally breaking the silence. “You're a bigger threat, being one of the feared Winchesters."</p><p>“And I’m a little bit bigger in other ways, I doubt I'll fit.”</p><p>You narrowed your eyes, turning to eye up the hole as though you were making a serious assessment before you shifted your attention back to Dean.</p><p>“It’s a small hole, I’ll never fit in there.”</p><p>And so the stand off continued, luckily the spirit didn’t have a set time regarding attacks, otherwise the victim would surely have perished by the time you either reached a compromise or Sam came to squeeze his way inside with a sassy remark aimed at the both of you.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Gabriel:</strong>
</p><p>The sky lit up as another large eruption rumbled in the sky.</p><p>Thor and Loki were fighting once again and the results had you jumping and squeaking as you were trying to hunt.</p><p>You’d had the creature in your sights at one point, but you’d let out a small squeak of fear as thunder clapped loudly which alerted the damn thing to your presence and gave it the chance to run off.</p><p>Gabriel, who had been accompanying you more often than not lately, took a small bit of amusement from your new demeanor of being constantly on edge, waiting for the next boom and flash.</p><p>“I hate it!” You cried, looking up at the sky as another flash lit it up. “I could be caught in a storm or get struck by lightning.”</p><p>“Is this a fear of thunder and lightning or a fear of getting electrocuted?”</p><p>As if on cue, the sky rumbled deeply once again, causing you to involuntarily duck and earn a strange, but still amused, look from the angel.</p><p>“Definitely just the thunder and lightning,” you replied.</p><p>Though the thought of being electrocuted wasn’t exactly pleasant either.</p><p>Gabriel rolled his eyes a little and placed a hand on your shoulder, instantly flying you both to your motel room.</p><p>“What are you doing? We have a monster to catch.”</p><p>“Because you’ll be so good at that in your condition, you stay here, I’ll go and deal with the bastard.”</p><p>You couldn’t even respond before he disappeared once again, leaving you in the dark motel room.</p><p>Dark until another large flash briefly illuminated the sky.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Lucifer:</strong>
</p><p>You glared at the inanimate object with so much animosity that it was a surprise it didn’t crack and fall apart right there on the spot.</p><p>Lucifer only smirked at your antics, looking between you and your little rival.</p><p>“It can’t hurt you, you know.”</p><p>“Oh, don’t you start with me,” you practically snapped, not tearing your eyes off of it. “It’s a cursed object for a reason.”</p><p>“Or, and hear me out, you just want it to be because you’re scared of dolls.”</p><p>A part of you wanted to jump straight into defense, but you knew that it was all a part of how you reacted to fear and that would only prove Lucifer right.</p><p>You hated dolls.</p><p>Those cold dead eyes that stared at nothing yet at everything at the same time, emotionless and unblinking.</p><p>The perfect skin with no blemishes, lips painted to look plump and eyelashes perfectly long and curled.</p><p>The feeling of a preened toddler was always brought up when dolls were involved, it just wasn’t right for something to look so done up while being the perfect visage of youth.</p><p>It was the same when looking into the eyes of a dead fish, it always sent an unpleasant shiver down your spine.</p><p>“No, that thing is definitely deadly.”</p><p>Lucifer rolled his eyes a little, the cruelest part of him was tempted to make the doll come to life just to scare you further.</p><p>Luckily for you, his more compassionate side had kicked in from the withered depths of his rotten soul and he decided to save you the anguish and heart attack.</p><p>“If you’re so adamant that it’s definitely that doll, out of everything else we’ve encountered, then we’ll lock it up.”</p><p>“I’d rather just burn it,” you mumbled bitterly.</p><p>“We’re locking it up.”</p><p>“Fine,” you huffed, rolling your eyes. “But you’re holding the damn thing, I want it no closer than five feet from me.”</p><p>With another glare as an unspoken warning not to move, you turned away from the porcelain nightmare to prepare a box to lock it into, making sure it was the smallest box you could find just to drive in your disdain for the things.</p><p>Petty, but needed, revenge sometimes made things better.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Sam:</strong><br/> <br/>There it was, just hanging on the wall with a mocking grin on its painted face.</p><p>False tears painted under its eyes, those glassy eyes that stared out from opposite your twin beds.</p><p>“Why would anyone want one of those?”</p><p>You looked at Sam just as he shuddered, yet his eyes never left that horribly painted white face.</p><p>The orange and red polka dot wig made the eyes, surrounded by faintly red makeup, stand out more.</p><p>The red painted lips spread into a wide, and to you almost threatening, smile.</p><p>“I don’t know,” you sighed, having to tear your eyes away from the horrifying portrait. “Clowns are freaky.”</p><p>Sam let out a short, huffed laugh which caused you to look at him once again.</p><p>“I’m with you there,” he smiled at you.</p><p>As always his dimpled smile made your heart race, but the clown portrait in your peripheral vision ruined the moment and made your blood freeze all over again.</p><p>It was an odd and uncomfortable mix.</p><p>You both stood there, staring at the hideous portrait that was sure to haunt your nightmares for weeks to come.</p><p>“Yeah, I think I’m just going to take it down,” Sam laughed as he stepped forward to lift the painting off the wall and hide it behind the wardrobe in the corner of the room.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. It's Your Party (You Can Cry If You Want To) - Birthday Request by TheMidnightPhoenix</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Castiel:</strong>
</p><p>It had been a long hunt and you were ready to drown your aches away in a warm bath while trying to not drown yourself when you would inevitably fall asleep.</p><p>Your bruises had bruises and your face was already turning purple from a monster punch to the right side, which had also knocked you off your feet and made you crack your leg against a cinderblock that some asshole had just left lying on the warehouse floor.</p><p>“Happy fucking birthday to me,” you grumbled to yourself, twisting the key in the stiff lock and swinging the door open.</p><p>Barely a foot had passed the threshold when colourful streamers and wonky music caught your attention.</p><p>You froze in the doorway, taking in the badly hung ‘Happy Birthday’ banners, the table laid out with an ugly yellow tablecloth decorated with pink cakes and white party hats and then finally the angel stood behind a cake and a wrapped present which were sat on that ugly tablecloth.</p><p>“Um…hello,” he said, sounding as if his brain had faltered completely.</p><p>“Cas?” You asked quietly, stepping inside and giving the door a little push to fall closed, “what is this?”</p><p>He looked around then met your eyes again.</p><p>“I wasn’t sure how you celebrated birthdays, so I asked Dean and he said with surprises, presents and cake.”</p><p>“You remembered my birthday?”</p><p>A wide smile broke your foul mood, your cheeks already aching.</p><p>“Of course,” he nodded, moving around the table to stand in front of you before pulling you into a hug, “happy birthday.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Crowley:</strong>
</p><p>You didn’t expect a damn thing from your boss.</p><p>In all the years you’d been working as his pseudo-secretary, he’d never bothered with anyone’s birthday, not even his own.</p><p>So why would this year be any different?</p><p>You sat in your uncomfortable chair, going over a series of deals he needed settled by the end of the mortal week, feeling ignored and disheartened.</p><p>You’d have figured that after years of working with him that you’d stop expecting anything when your human birthday came around, you couldn’t fully understand why you still held onto the date so dearly.</p><p>It had been years since you’d become a demon, more lifetimes than a human soul could live without being twisted and yet you still held some strange hope over the meaningless day.</p><p>“You couldn’t look any happier if you tried.”</p><p>You looked up to see Crowley approaching, looking strangely chipper.</p><p>“I guess I’m just in a foul mood,” you shrugged, not feeling stupid enough to indulge in the truth.</p><p>“Because no one has thrown you a party?”</p><p>Your eyebrow quirked as he pulled up a chair, sitting at the edge of your tiny desk.</p><p>“Thought I forgot about the day you blathered on about every year?” He asked rhetorically, setting down two glasses and a bottle you hadn’t even noticed he was carrying.</p><p>“What are yo-”</p><p>“We’re celebrating,” he answered simply, pouring out two drinks, “so stop asking questions and drink with me before I change my mind.”</p><p>He looked away to sip his own drink, giving you a chance to grin as you plucked your own up without him making a snide comment, which was a present all in itself.</p><p>Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad birthday this year.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Dean:</strong>
</p><p>“What a night!” You yelled for the fifth time since you’d hit the road again.</p><p>Dean glanced towards you with a huge smile of his own, making him look ten years younger as his eyes sparkled.</p><p>“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.”</p><p>“How could I not?” You laughed, “I can’t believe you found it.”</p><p>“You can thank Sammy for that one, it was still my idea though.”</p><p>You laughed again and shook your head, looking out the window as the empty roads and trees flew by.</p><p>The night had been wild, Dean had surprised you with tickets to the small show of a relatively unknown band you had become obsessed with after catching them live at a bar at the end of a long hunt.</p><p>You hadn’t realised that Dean had picked up on your new obsession, so the surprise day off was only capped when he took you on an hour long car ride to some dive bar and then added to it by holding out a printed off flyer for the small event.</p><p>It wasn’t usually his type of music, but Dean had been just as happy with drinking and joining in your chaotic singing, admitting that he only knew the words because of your repeated listens.</p><p>Partway through you’d gotten a message from Sam saying that he and Castiel had solved the case, so not only did you attend one of the best gigs you’ve been to in your hunting life but you also didn’t have to worry about getting up to hunt in the morning.</p><p>What a truly beautiful birthday it was turning out to be.</p><p>Though knowing Dean, the night wasn’t over yet for either of you.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Gabriel:</strong>
</p><p>If there was one thing you knew you’d wake up to on your birthday, it was a lavish, over decorated, too many tiers to count birthday cake.</p><p>Last year it had been based on a show you’d become obsessed with, three tiers of decorative characters and icing that recreated different bits of scenery from various moments in the show.</p><p>You’d barely made it through before it went stale and this year you just knew that he was going to do it again, probably bigger and brasher than ever.</p><p>It was a mystery how he managed to live off of sweet goods, even if he logically didn’t need to live.</p><p>You wouldn’t be surprised if he’d never tried anything savoury in his entire lifetime and watching him and his sugar intake sometimes made you feel a little queasy, which he knew, so why he continued to get you such huge and lavish cakes you wouldn’t understand.</p><p>So, it went without saying that waking up to find him sat at a table with only a small plate in front of him was a surprise.</p><p>“What’s going on?” You asked tiredly, rubbing your eyes.</p><p>“Your birthday, I believe.”</p><p>You rolled your eyes and sat up, looking at the plate in front of him.</p><p>Sat on top of it was one of those cakes that had been all the rage during the year, a cake that looked too realistically like something else to be a cake.</p><p>This one happened to be your favourite animal and you prayed that he wasn’t going to make you try to cut into it only to have the thing spring up as a new pet.</p><p>“You know that isn’t what I meant,” you laughed groggily, stumbling out from under the covers.</p><p>“Yes, you mean the cake.”</p><p>“I do.”</p><p>He nodded and watched as you pulled out the chair opposite him and sat down, resting your head on your hand.</p><p>“Well, to put it simply, I thought that this year we would do things a little more personally.”</p><p>Gabriel smiled, holding out a long spoon to you.</p><p>“Something for us to share that won’t take a year to eat.”</p><p>You returned his smile and took the spoon, gently turning it around in your fingers.</p><p>“I like it,” you hummed happily.</p><p>“As was my intention,” he smiled wider, picking up his own spoon, “the first scoop is all yours, happy birthday.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Lucifer:</strong>
</p><p>Lucifer didn’t celebrate birthdays, surprisingly.</p><p>You would have guessed that a fallen one intent on being annoying at every second would relish in singing that horrible birthday song at you, especially off key when the opportunity arose, even if it wasn’t your birthday.</p><p>Instead, you found him being suspiciously calm and quiet, keeping out of your way and out of your face.</p><p>It was unnerving and more than a little suspicious.</p><p>You weren’t entirely sure if he knew just how much it put you on edge, having him do nothing irritating or life threatening for the entire twenty-four-hour duration of your day of birth.</p><p>On the third year, when another day nearly ended with nothing at all happening, you finally cracked.</p><p>“What are you talking about?”</p><p>You groaned in frustration.</p><p>“You know perfectly well what, why do you get so weird on my birthday”</p><p>“Weird?”</p><p>“Yes! Weird! You go all quiet and subdued and it puts me on edge.”</p><p>Lucifer looked at you as if you had just revealed the world’s biggest secret and he didn’t believe a word you were saying.</p><p>“Puts you on edge? That’s the exact opposite of what I want.”</p><p>“Well it’s the result you get, why do you go so weird?”</p><p>“I get ‘weird’ to give you a day off from my devilish antics, a birthday treat, so to speak.”</p><p>You stared at him, suddenly finding yourself speechless.</p><p>“Wait, you were taking a calm day to celebrate my birthday?”</p><p>“Sure,” he shrugged like it was the most obvious thing never, “it’s a special day to humans, right? For whatever reason.”</p><p>“To some,” you nodded, smiling for the first time all day.</p><p>It was as if your nerves had disappeared in an instant, for the most part at least.</p><p>You were still dealing with Lucifer at the end of the day, which meant that after the reveal of his true intentions he was more than likely going to lead you into a false sense of security the next year and make it one hell of a ride.</p><p>But you enjoyed the sentimentality and to savour it, said nothing further as you smiled at your laptop.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Sam:</strong>
</p><p>You curled into Sam’s side, feeling a chill as a breeze started to pick up the further night fell.</p><p>Your eyes started to feel heavy as you relaxed, equally wanting to move somewhere warmer while not leaving at all.</p><p>It had been a long day of pure indulgence for you both.</p><p>Nothing but wilderness, a picnic and each other.</p><p>A quiet birthday, all planned by the younger Winchester himself.</p><p>It wasn’t anything lavish or over the top and that was exactly how you wanted it.</p><p>You’d had years that varied from being spoiled rotten to being ignored, but this perfect medium ground with Sam was exactly the right fit for your mood this birthday year.</p><p>Perhaps it was because you were older and birthdays had started to become just another day but doing something as small as a forest trek with your boyfriend, especially one that didn’t involve monsters at the other end, just felt right.</p><p>With how panicked and hectic your everyday lives were, you’d almost forgotten just how pleasant it was to live in a comfortable silence, strolling along while casually holding hands as if neither of you had a care in the world but where to set up the picnic Sam was carrying the supplies for.</p><p>A picnic that also included a cake handmade by him and Dean, a kitchen mess you were glad you didn’t have to deal with, you were sure.</p><p>Dean may have been a master when it came to meat cooking, but there were still plenty of questionable areas he could improve on.</p><p>After finding a clear spot and setting up, you both sat down and whittled time away by eating and talking and as simple as it was, you couldn’t have been happier.</p><p>Neither of you were in a rush to get back on the trail for the walk back to the car, even if you were more than aware of what could potentially be lurking in the wilderness surrounding you.</p><p>Instead, you both led in the grass contently, jackets tucked beneath your bodies as you rested your head on his chest and let your eyes fall closed, all talk having fallen back into quiet a long time ago.</p><p>Nothing had to be said.</p><p>You were both content and it didn’t need to be said out loud for it to be understood that this was one of your best birthdays in a long, long time and Sam was happy to be the one to give you this moment of peace.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Nice To Meet You Kind(?) Stranger - Request by TheMidnightPhoenix</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Castiel:</strong>
</p><p>You let out an awful groan of pain as you pushed yourself onto your side, finding it too laborious to breath on your front.</p><p>The demons had long since retreated, leaving you a bloody pulp on the floor after they had ganged up on you and taken the artefact you had been after.</p><p>You wanted to say a snide remark to the air but found that attempting anything more than struggled breathing lead to nothing more than coughing up a concerning amount of blood.</p><p>You missed the days when demons were never a thought for a case, back when monsters and ghosts were pretty much all you had to deal with.</p><p>Time seemed to slow down and the edges of your vision were starting to turn dark.</p><p>It was no surprise that you would die during a hunt, but you had never anticipated that it would happen so early into your hunting career.</p><p>From somewhere in the haze, you could hear footsteps getting closer and assumed that the demons were returning to finish you off, how strangely merciful of them.</p><p>Instead, when rotten door swung open, a man dressed like Constantine stepped inside and looked around before catching your eye, his face twisting in bewilderment as he stepped closer.</p><p>Crouching beside you, he looked you over and shook his head.</p><p>“Don’t worry,” he said, pressing two fingers to your forehead, “I’ve got you.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Crowley:</strong>
</p><p>Being dragged to Hell had never been something you imagined happening in your life, though you also never pictured hitting such a low that you ended up seeking out demons that made deals.</p><p>If your life hadn’t taken the worst turn it possibly could, you wouldn’t have been in the position you found yourself in, getting dragged down a corridor by two other demons who refused to tell you a single thing.</p><p>It was disorienting and everything moved too quickly, you could still feel the hellhound tearing into your skin as it dragged you down.</p><p>Hell wasn’t what you had expected it to be.</p><p>Yes, souls were still screaming and begging but it wasn’t all hellfire and brimstone with hot rods being poked into people’s eyes, it looked more like someone had opened an office building in a cave with the world’s worst queues.</p><p>You were dragged before two large doors, held suspended between the two demons carrying you while another, who you suppose acted as a guard, disappeared inside.</p><p>A minute or so later, the doors swung open and the demons were given permission to drag you inside.</p><p>Your feet scraped against the floor as you were pulled forward, your underarms hurt where they were holding you and you were beginning to wish that you had just continued your life of misery rather than take the easy way out.</p><p>“So,” a smooth voice echoed around the room as you came to a stop, one of the demons forcing your head up to look towards a suave looking man upon a throne, “this is the sorry soul I reaped today.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Dean:</strong>
</p><p>The diner was bustling and the smell of their food was making your stomach grumble worse than it had been when you pulled up.</p><p>You’d been driving for hours and were more than ready to stuff your face before getting back onto the road.</p><p>It felt like you had been waiting for an eternity for your order, the hunger taking over as you tried to distract yourself with some people watching from the window you sat near.</p><p>Not much seemed to be happening in the small town you’d stopped in, so nothing of substantial excitement was taking place and everyone seemed to be going about their lives peacefully, ignorant to the dangers that could be lurking around the corner.</p><p>Speaking of corners, just as that thought hit you, a beautiful black car turned into view from down the street and cruised closer and closer to the diner.</p><p>You found yourself transfixed by this beautiful, sleek black beast and couldn’t believe your luck when it pulled into the parking lot, giving you a longer chance to admire it.</p><p>You were full-on staring, how could you not when that stunning machine was right in your eyeline?</p><p>Even better was the man who had been driving it, who caught your attention the second he got out of the driver’s side.</p><p>You watched him gobsmacked, a beautiful guy with a beautiful car who just happened to be coming into the same place you were eating in.</p><p>There was no way you were leaving that place without first letting him know that he had a hot ride.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Gabriel:</strong>
</p><p>You looked at the sheet of paper and let out a long, loaded sigh.</p><p>Calling an angel, this would be something entirely new to you, a hunter who hadn’t even known until recently that angels were an actual thing and not the imaginary friends of people who needed to believe in something.</p><p>Apparently, this angel was needed for info concerning the research you were working and this was the only way to get hold of them.</p><p>You’d never had to summon an angel before, so you were more than a little worried that it wouldn’t work in some capacity but you also trusted the hunters who recommended it and knew that they wouldn’t purposefully steer you wrong.</p><p>It took you a little while to gather what you needed, having to go the long route and no angel seemed to want to answer your prayer for help.</p><p>By the time you were done gathering and setting up, you were at the end of your tether and ready to just finish things so that you collapse onto your rock-hard bed and sleep the world away in a rare moment of deep sleep.</p><p>With a tired grumble of Latin, you added the final ingredient to your summoning ritual and finished off the incantation which lit up the room in a blinding light.</p><p>Once everything had dimmed and you could see past the blinking dots in your vision, you found someone stood in the middle of the room who looked as unassuming as the next person you would walk by on the street.</p><p>“Wow,” they said, looking around the room with a look of approval, “I can’t believe you actually did a full summon, you could have just asked.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Lucifer:</strong>
</p><p>When you first met Lucifer, he had been wearing Sam as his ‘one and true’ meat suit.</p><p>Watching Sam move around so callously had sent an unpleasant shiver down your spine, seeing a friend being possessed by one of mankind’s most evil beings was disturbing in ways no one could ever understand.</p><p>Though you never voiced it aloud, you were glad that your interaction with Lucifer had been minimal, barely fifteen minutes before he shot off to do whatever business the devil needed to do.</p><p>Everything was in limbo until you received a call from a fellow hunter, telling you the terrible news.</p><p>Losing Sam had been terrible and you felt sorry for Dean, having to live on without his brother.</p><p>At least, until he showed up again, alive and almost as ruthless as he had been while Lucifer was riding around in him.</p><p>You were thankful to have missed Sam’s stint of being soulless, the memories of Lucifer’s control already being enough to cause nightmares.</p><p>Everything got fixed and life went on for everyone, you were kept up to date on the weird happenings with the Winchester brothers but mostly kept out of it, being happy to remain a small-time hunter who focused on non-demonic or angelic cases.</p><p>Of course, your luck wouldn’t hold out forever.</p><p>You had been vegging out in your motel room, watching some mind-numbing show on one of the few channels the motel room TV could pick up while eating some warm food, simply enjoying the solitude after a hunt gone exceedingly well.</p><p>That peace was interrupted when the lights around flickered, the TV shut off and a stranger appeared between the bed and the cabinet where the set was being held.</p><p>His back was turned to you and you were already on your feet by the time he had put his hands on his hips and turned towards you, shooting you a bright and chipper smile that looked too sinister for your liking.</p><p>“Hey,” he said in a sing-song voice, holding his arms out to his sides as his eyes flickered to a glowing orangey-red, “remember me?”</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Sam:</strong>
</p><p>Pulling up outside the motel, you switched off the ignition and then took out your phone, loading up the last message that you had received from Bobby to double check that this was absolutely the right place.</p><p>The address matched up and when you looked up from the sheet of paper, you saw the curtain in the window of the indicated room move, so you could only assume that you were very much at the right, run down motel in the middle of nowhere.</p><p>Had it not been Bobby who had given you the details, in person after confirming he was not a demon or any other hidden being, then you would have turned around and gone elsewhere with the assumption that this was a trap.</p><p>No wonder Bobby went out of his way to prove it was him, even he thought this place was shady.</p><p>“Why the hell would you stay here?” You mumbled while climbing out of the car, glancing around the parking lot and noting that there was only one other car around.</p><p>Deciding to leave your bag in the car for the time being, not worrying too much about having to be concerned about them running out of rooms to stay in, you hopped up the few steps that lead to door number seven and gave a couple of hard knocks.</p><p>Glancing at the paper, you noted the name again.</p><p>Sam Winchester, one of two names well known to hunters in the recent years.</p><p>It seems that you get bit of a reputation when you stop an apocalypse.</p><p>A couple of beats pass before the door swings open and you are greeted by a tall, very handsome man with a mop of brown hair.</p><p>Honestly, you though you could perfectly picture them after hearing the descriptions of the Winchesters but you hadn’t expected him to look like <em>that</em>.</p><p>“Hey,” he smiled kindly, “you must be the harpy expert.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. You Had Your First Kiss</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Castiel:</strong>
</p><p>It had been a totally spontaneous moment.</p><p>Spirits were low, the end of the world loomed once again and you were at a point of desperation.</p><p>You truly believed that you were going to die this time and opted to throw all caution to the wind, you were going to have the night of your life if you were going to die tomorrow.</p><p>So with copious amounts of alcohol, music and food, you did just that.</p><p>You were only partially through your ‘I might die’ party when Castiel paid his visit, thankfully you were only a little bit buzzed by that point, so you could converse with him without slurring your words.</p><p>“You truly think you’re going to die?”</p><p>“I do,” you nodded, resting your hand behind your head as you leaned back on the motel room couch.</p><p>With your belief of no tomorrow, you had splurged and got yourself the fanciest room you had used in a while, which happened to come with one of the nicest couches you had used in a while, the cleanest looking one too.</p><p>“And you are going to spend your night alone in this room?” He asked, giving the room a quick look, as if judging it for the first time.</p><p>“I have nothing else to do,” you shrugged.</p><p>“No last experiences you want to have?”</p><p>You stared across the room in contemplation, gnawing on your bottom lip a little as you thought.</p><p>“I suppose there is one thing,” you hummed, looking at him.</p><p>“What would that be?”</p><p>After taking a moment to brace yourself, you stood up, sauntered over to him and slowly leaned in to press your lips to his.</p><p>It was only quick and chaste, but your heart still flipped when he didn’t immediately pull away, allowing you to linger ever so slightly.</p><p>In fact, he seemed as if he pushed into it a little, which made you feel all the more confident into going a little further and making the second kiss much brasher.</p><p>If you were going to die tomorrow, at least you would die knowing how it felt to kiss an angel.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Crowley:</strong>
</p><p>“What are you calling me for?”</p><p>You jolted at the distinctly accented voice that came from behind you and turned on your heel.</p><p>The junction was in near complete darkness, only one streetlamp illuminated the being behind you, his expression one of mild amusement with a cocky smirk.</p><p>“I want to make a deal.”</p><p>“Yes,” he rolled his eyes, “I guessed that much, otherwise neither of us would be here.”</p><p>You could only nod slowly, your face feeling heated from the fluster you were beginning to feel.</p><p>“I want to become a great artist,” you said with all the courage you could muster.</p><p>For so long you had worked at perfecting your art, each piece getting better and better and yet things were going nowhere, you were stuck in a dead end job with no end in sight.</p><p>It was dragging you down and you knew, as soon as you’d heard about crossroad demons, that this was your chance to get out of the rut.</p><p>“I see, so you want money and fame,” he chuckled.</p><p>“No, I mostly just want recognition.”</p><p>“That’s a different one I suppose.”</p><p>You watched him cautiously as he stepped closer, his eyes quickly roaming over you before he came to a stop mere inches away from you.</p><p>“All right, you have a deal.”</p><p>“Great,” you grinned, holding your hand out to shake it.</p><p>He looked at your offered hand like it somehow personally offended him, he let you linger in the moment for a few uncomfortable seconds until he grabbed your wrist and pulled you closer to him.</p><p>“This is how we do things where I’m from.”</p><p>You didn’t have time to react before he closed the gap and connected his lips with yours.</p><p>It was powerful and controlling, but yet somehow it was strangely alluring.</p><p>He pulled away too soon, it felt like it was over before it had even begun.</p><p>“My name is Crowley,” he smirked, sliding his hands into the pockets of his black coat, “and in ten years time, your soul is mine.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Dean:</strong>
</p><p>Dean stared at you in astonishment, his jaw almost hitting the ground in complete shock.</p><p>You shuffled a little in your spot, giving him a quick side glance.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“How have you only kissed one person?”</p><p>“Hey, it’s better than kissing none.”</p><p>“Maybe, but that’s still kind of bad, even Sam’s kissed more people than that and he’s a total nerd.”</p><p>You both laugh at his lighthearted jab at his brother, who wasn’t even around to hear the insult.</p><p>“I know, it’s just how it is,” you shrugged uncaringly.</p><p>“Was he good?”</p><p>“Not in the slightest,” you grinned before downing a bit of your beer, “maybe that’s why I haven’t gone for it again, that guy was so bad he put me off.”</p><p>“If that’s the case, then I’m just going to have to correct that.”</p><p>Dean promptly wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you across the hood of the Impala you were both perched on, a small yelp escaping you as your beer sloshed a little inside the bottle.</p><p>At first you were tempted to play hard to get, shying away as he eyed you, but your resolve wasn’t as strong as you’d have hoped when it came to the older Winchester and you were immediately drawn to meet him as he leaned down to connect your lips.</p><p>If anyone could teach you just how good a kiss could be, surely it'd be Dean freakin' Winchester.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Gabriel:</strong>
</p><p>You had no idea how you had managed to catch the attention of this peculiar angel, but there he was and there he wouldn’t leave.</p><p>Which only made your researching twice as difficult, seeing as he wouldn’t leave you in peace to concentrate on anything you needed to find.</p><p>It felt like you were going insane from his incessant talking, which didn’t seem to be coming to an end anytime soon.</p><p>“What can I do to make you leave?” You finally asked, feeling your tether snap.</p><p>“Why not make me an offer?” He chuckled, giving you that cocky smirk of his.</p><p>You sighed, rubbing your tired eyes, “I’ll get you a selection of different sweets.”</p><p>His eyebrow quirked a little and he laughed, “I can get plenty of those myself, try again.”</p><p>“A collection of magazines with the weirdest stories imaginable?”</p><p>“Nope.”</p><p>“Scantily clad women?”</p><p>“Closer, but no dice,” he grinned.</p><p>You rolled your eyes and waved him off, “I have nothing left to offer, I’m a hunter, not a damn salesperson.”</p><p>“Then how about I make you an offer?” He asked, moving closer to the table you were sat at.</p><p>“I dread to think about what you'll come up with, but I’m listening.”</p><p>“Kiss me,” he said simply, “a full-blown but nothing too special kiss.”</p><p>You looked up at him like you could see three of his heads, making him tsk and roll his eyes.</p><p>“Don’t give me that look, you’ve had weirder encounters.”</p><p>“Okay, so you’re saying that if I kiss you, you’ll leave?”</p><p>“For twenty four hours.”</p><p>“Generous.”</p><p>You stopped for a moment to think over the deal, if it involved most other people it would be an instant no but Gabriel was different and not just because he was an angel.</p><p>There was no way to deny your attraction to him, which made the deal perfectly tempting and impossibly hard to ignore.</p><p>“Exactly twenty four hours?”</p><p>“Exactly,” he nodded, trying to suppress a knowing smile.</p><p>“Fine,” you conceded, throwing your hands up, “as long as it means that I get to be alone.”</p><p>Gabriel let out an off little laugh and leaned even closer to meet your own lean in.</p><p>As your lips pressed together you knew that this would be the first of many situations just like this.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Lucifer:</strong>
</p><p>You couldn’t say you were surprise when Lucifer uncomfortably crashed his lips onto yours, causing a slight discomfort to your teeth and the back of your top lip.</p><p>A small grunt even left you as he lingered over your stiff body, waiting for you to respond.</p><p>Something told you that he wouldn’t move until you reciprocated, so you huffed through your nose and began to return his dubious kiss.</p><p>Lips and tongues danced, his split tongue making the experience otherworldly, until he was sated and pulled away with the grin of a cheeky schoolboy.</p><p>“What the hell was that for?” You deadpanned, staring up at him.</p><p>“You were ignoring me and I don’t like being ignored.”</p><p>“So you just decide to kiss me?”</p><p>“The best way to invade your personal space and get what I want.”</p><p>“You could at least ask next time.”</p><p>“I’m Lucifer,” he chuckled, like that in itself was a decent enough reason, “and I can do as I wish.”</p><p>“Is that so?”</p><p>“Of course, and you know,” he tilted his head in mock thought, looking at you from the corner of his eye with a hum, “I’d even let you return the favour.”</p><p>His eyes quickly flickered down to indicate his crotch, making you roll your eyes.</p><p>“Of course, I’m honoured that I get the opportunity to please you.”</p><p>“As you should be.”</p><p>You shook your head and flipped him off, returning to the book you had been reading before he so rudely interrupted.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Sam:</strong>
</p><p>It had been a lovely evening with Sam.</p><p>He had gone all out and booked a table at a not too expensive but still very lovely restaurant, made sure that you had a great time in his company with enthralling stories and jokes that never needed a fake laugh.</p><p>He’d even walked you back to your motel door like a true gentleman.</p><p>Sam stepped to one side as you began to shimmy the key in the lock of the door, the thing had been busted since you arrived but the motel manager decided the best idea, rather than fixing it, was to show you how to jimmy it open.</p><p>“So,” Sam started, filling the awkward void as you struggled with the door, “tonight was fun.”</p><p>“It was great,” you smiled at him over your shoulder.</p><p>“Great enough to do it again?”</p><p>You gave a harsh huff and forced the door open with a triumphant bounce, as the door swung open you turned to face Sam, grinning up at him.</p><p>“Definitely, I’d love that.”</p><p>“Good,” he smiled back, giving a brief nod, “well I’ll text you in the morning?”</p><p>“Or pay me a visit, but sure.”</p><p>You both fell into silence and stood there awkwardly, neither of you knowing quite what to say.</p><p>Eventually, Sam cleared his throat.</p><p>“Anyway, uh,” he started, indicating towards the door of his own room, “I guess I’l-“</p><p>Before you knew what came over you, you stepped forward, leaned up and gave him a kiss.</p><p>It wasn’t like you to be so forward, especially with a man like Sam, but this felt like the right thing to do.</p><p>You held it for a second or two then pulled away and gave him a smile as you stepped back into your room.</p><p>“I’ll see you in the morning, Sammy,” you winked, closing the door on a stupefied looking Sam.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. I Love You - Request by TheMidnightPhoenix</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Castiel:</strong>
</p><p>“I know it’s part of your work, but it would seem that I love you and Dean says that’s why I worry about you.”</p><p>You looked at the angel, cradling your recently relocated arm after having it forced back into place.</p><p>Castiel had been fussing over you since you called him to help you and while you appreciated it, you also felt that he was crowding you a little too much and had asked him to back off, especially as it wasn’t even the worst injury you had ever sustained on a hunt.</p><p>His response had surprised you and made your stomach flip just a little, your lips spreading into a smile.</p><p>“That’s really sweet,” you said softly, “and I appreciate the worry, love you too.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Crowley:</strong>
</p><p>“I don’t say it enough, or at all really, but you’re the best secretary a demon could ask for and I just…I love that about you.”</p><p>Your head snapped towards your boss, who was lounging on a double bed, wrapped in a dressing gown and clinging to a glass filled with human blood.</p><p>He was drunk on it and you knew that, you knew with all your heart to not get excited about it and yet, you couldn’t stop that small glimmer of hope that sparked.</p><p>They did say that the truth was more likely to come out when someone was drunk off their ass.</p><p>You didn’t reply, you merely walked over to take the glass away and tuck him into bed properly.</p><p>Internally, you reminded yourself to keep a mental note of this moment to use against him.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Dean:</strong>
</p><p>“Love you, kick ass, don’t die.”</p><p>You stared at Dean’s back as he darted off, eyes widened in absolute shock.</p><p>It wasn’t even a particularly dangerous hunt, at least not compared to other things you had faced and the fact that he hadn’t even glanced over his shoulder as he ran off made you wonder if he had even realised that he had said it.</p><p>You finally shook yourself awake after standing in one spot, staring towards where he’d disappeared to dumbfounded.</p><p>Silently, you smiled, tightening the grip on your own weapon as you headed inside.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Gabriel:</strong>
</p><p>“I love you.”</p><p>Gabriel lowered his magazine and looked towards you, his eyebrow quirked.</p><p>You stared at one another for an uncomfortable moment, all the while you were mentally wishing that you had kept your mouth shut.</p><p>Maybe it was too early.</p><p>Maybe you had made him uncomfortable.</p><p>He smirked then lifted the magazine back up, lowering his eyes back to the page he was reading.</p><p>“I know.”</p><p>Or maybe he was an ass, keeping you in awkwardness until he pulled off the most cliché reference that he could.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Lucifer:</strong>
</p><p>“I hate you, I hate you so much that I go back to loving you.”</p><p>You glared towards Lucifer, who had temporary froze in surprise at your yelling.</p><p>Thankfully, it had also stopped him in his jibing while you were trying to get some sleep.</p><p>As if it wasn’t bad enough that you struggled to get warm in that motel bed without having to practically suffocate yourself in the thin cover.</p><p>In the end as you glared, he merely shrugged with huge exaggeration.</p><p>“Well, yeah,” he scoffed cheerily, rolling his eyes with that purely Lucifer smile, “duh, who doesn’t love me?”</p><p>He may or may not have gotten a very thin pillow to the face that night.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Sam:</strong>
</p><p>“I think I love you.”</p><p>You looked up to Sam, your head resting on his chest and his free arm wrapped around you, the other holding up a book that he had been reading silently until that moment.</p><p>It was a late and hunt-free night, but neither of you could sleep so you had cuddled up to Sam for cuddles as he read silently.</p><p>“Well,” you laughed softly, nuzzling against him, “that came out of nowhere.”</p><p>“It kind of only just sprung up on me too.”</p><p>“How sweet,” you smiled, closing your eyes as you draped your own arm over his waist. “I love you too.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Starcrossed - Request by belovedAncient</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm sorry about Gabriel and Lucifer's, I'm not really happy with them but...this just felt the most in character.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Castiel:</strong>
</p><p>There was something delectably ironic about the angel’s reluctance to work with you and you were basking in the hard looks he was giving you, that stern face he’d get when he was displeased with a situation but ultimately knew he couldn’t change it.</p><p>“Come on, Cas,” you smiled as charmingly as you could, “don’t act like this is the first time you’ve worked with a demon.”</p><p>“Don’t bring Meg into this,” he said gruffly.</p><p>“Oh, snappy.”</p><p>He hated you but reluctantly accepted that you would be the best ally he had for what he needed to do, thus you ended up stuck with one another for months.</p><p>This unfortunate event turned hate into something far more conflicting and neither of you were willing to admit that there was more there, so instead you stuck with bickering and bantering.</p><p>Something which annoyed Dean greatly, as if allying with one demon wasn’t bad enough.</p><p>He wanted you both to just smash out your differences already but seeing as that wasn’t likely to happen soon, he merely took your ‘totally not flirting’ in stride until it became too much and he’d eventually snap.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Crowley:</strong>
</p><p>“You’re hardly the first angel I’ve worked with and I doubt you’ll be the last.”</p><p>You quirked your eyebrow at his smirk, his statement coming across almost cockily.</p><p>“So, what do you want for that? A bourbon-soaked cookie?”</p><p>“If you have one to hand.”</p><p>You rolled your eyes and turned back to the scroll you’d swiped from a unit, one that the humans didn’t know held valuable information pertained to both Heaven and Hell.</p><p>It had been a few months since you had approached the new King of Hell, offering your services for something that would grow to be a huge problem to him if he didn’t see to it soon.</p><p>Sure, you may have ramped up the severity of unfallen angels wishing to invade the demonic domain, but if it got you the results you needed then you were more than happy to tell a few white lies.</p><p>You hadn’t expected to grow fond of the red-eyed bastard and certainly didn’t expect him to start flirting back, even if it was only lightly.</p><p>You just hoped that neither of you would end up double-crossing the other, that would put a real damper on the relationship.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Dean:</strong>
</p><p>He couldn’t believe that he had found himself in this situation, after all the shit he had given Sam in the past for daring to trust a demon despite everything their family had gone through.</p><p>Granted, it was a reluctant alliance in order to help his brother, but it was an alliance all the same.</p><p>Naturally, he’d kept you as distant as possible in the beginning, only calling you unless absolutely needed and even then, not all that often when it was.</p><p>However, much to his dismay, Dean found himself starting to take a strange comfort in your presence the longer you were around each other and damn, did he feel like shit about it.</p><p>Sam would give him knowing looks or make jibes and Dean would brush him off, hiding the fact that he was actually starting to feel guilty with his affiliation with you.</p><p>Not that that stopped him from calling you to meet up time and time again, the lapse in between getting shorter and shorter.</p><p>It was both sordid and addictive and Dean knew he had to give it up, demons caused nothing but trouble, but damn if you weren’t intoxicating.</p><p>You were going to be the death of him but if it also meant saving Sam’s life then Dean would accept it all with open arms.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Gabriel:</strong>
</p><p>Gabriel was unphased by your kind from the start, he had worked with shadier beings and done more than questionable things himself.</p><p>He held no prejudices.</p><p>Who was he to judge based purely on your kind?</p><p>The angel only cared that you were perhaps up for some fun with him, like a rendezvous worthy of the movies.</p><p>Would it end in adventure?</p><p>True love?</p><p>Perhaps even heartbreak?</p><p>Only you two knew, but it all started with the both of you going after the same target for answers and he’d be lying if he said that he didn’t find that strangely poetic.</p><p>The perfect start to a story of a delightfully dramatic affair.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Lucifer:</strong>
</p><p>Angel, demon, nephalem or nephilim, Lucifer didn’t care one iota.</p><p>Nor did you care about his history or the legends behind his name.</p><p>You were equal fodder to one another, not knowing whether one of you would throw the other under the bus around the next corner, either metaphorically or literally.</p><p>It was exciting to you both.</p><p>The thrill was electrifying and in the strangest ways, kind of erotic, straight off the bat and only got worse with each interaction.</p><p>One of you could be plotting to destroy the other and knew that were you to succeed, the other would congratulate you for it.</p><p>It was twisted, perfect for the ex-King of Hell.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Sam:</strong>
</p><p>Guilt had churned in his stomach from the very beginning.</p><p>He had sworn not to let himself be lured into another trap like he had with Ruby and yet, that’s exactly where he found himself.</p><p>A demon had come forth claiming to have information on the mark that was affecting his brother and despite his trepidations, Sam accepted any help that they could give.</p><p>“Trust me, I know it’s hard, but I’m nothing like Ruby,” you had smiled, “my vessel is much cuter.”</p><p>Dean hadn’t taken the news well when he found out and there had been another yelling match between the two, harmful words were shared but Sam couldn’t fully hold it against his brother, he didn’t know when it was Dean talking or the mark.</p><p>You had been there to help him pick up the pieces after the argument and that brought you both closer, though Sam tried to stay guarded.</p><p>He would deny it to himself that he was beginning to find himself drawn to you, past experiences being buried so that he could play oblivious.</p><p>Sam didn’t know if this would hurt in the long run and he accepted that he’d kill you if he truly had to, he’d had no problem holding Ruby so that Dean could stab her so this should ultimately be no different.</p><p>For the time being, Sam would admire the way you smiled at him and didn’t push the morbid acts he’d been coerced into before.</p><p>For now, Sam would accept any help he could get.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Mistakes Happen - Request by Unclaimed Divergent Gryffinclaw</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Castiel:</strong>
</p><p>Your leg bounced as you stared at the wall, your fingers drumming the knee of the other.</p><p>The images wouldn’t leave your mind, those poor girls being torn apart because you didn’t make it in time, because you’d been so cocky about what you were truly up against and hadn’t listened to reason.</p><p>Your lip quivered as your eyes misted over again, which you tried to hide by hastily wiping at them with the palm of your hand.</p><p>“I’m not cut out for this, not anymore,” you shook your head, looking to the middle of the room where Castiel stood, looking both awkward and sympathetic.</p><p>“You can’t say that because of one mistake,” he replied.</p><p>Your scoff mixed with a laugh as you rolled your eyes.</p><p>“A ‘mistake’ is throwing your spoon away instead of the yogurt pot, Cas, not getting two, innocent, young girls killed because you’re shit at your own job.”</p><p>Another sob forced its way out of your throat, catching your breath in the centre of your chest with a painful hiccup.</p><p>Covering your mouth with your hand, you turned back to the wall as a tear ran down your cheek.</p><p>“Listen to me,” he said sharply, moving across the room in a few strides to side beside you on the bed, “you are not a bad hunter, sometimes people die and it’s horrible but that doesn’t mean you are incapable.”</p><p>You worried your lip between you teeth and turned your head to him, lip still quivering as your words got caught in the back of your throat.</p><p>“This was so much worse, Castiel, they died <em>because</em> of me.”</p><p>“And I won’t lie, it could happen again, that’s a casualty of what you do but you need to remember that so many others were saved for the lives of two and you either need to get over that or quit.”</p><p>You stared at him wordlessly, the pain in your chest getting worse.</p><p>Of course he was absolutely right, hunting was never going to be about pure victory and many more losses were going to be made along the way but you didn’t need his bluntness in that moment.</p><p>You didn’t need the truth.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Crowley:</strong>
</p><p>You’d been feeling a little more than inadequate.</p><p>When you became a demon you had hoped for more action, like the games and movies would lead you to believe a demon should be.</p><p>Big, imposing and earthshattering.</p><p>Not a secretary for some red misted bastard who cared about you as much as he cared for a worm.</p><p>Actually, he’d probably care more for a worm than you.</p><p>You wanted to prove yourself, to be out there on the field making deals and conning people out of long, fulfilling lives by manipulating them at their lowest.</p><p>So you did.</p><p>You essentially went rogue and started to make deals behind Crowley’s back, knowing exactly how to work around him with your insider, pseudo-secretary knowledge.</p><p>All the years you had spent, listening to Crowley mock you about how useless you were and yet, you were going behind his back to get him more souls without him even noticing and excelling far better than his other minions.</p><p>Sure, maybe you weren’t the best at keeping your feelings for him hidden, but apparently you were damn good at being a crossroads demon.</p><p>Too bad he’d never see it and would continue to shout you down at every turn.</p><p>One day he’d see your growth in confidence and boy, would he be sorry.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Dean:</strong>
</p><p>You down another few gulps of your drink and then set the bottle down on the bar top, licking the excess from your downturned lips.</p><p>The hunt had gone terribly and you had put so many people at risk that the guilt and the alcohol were mixing into an awful concoction, one that was sure to leave you reeling for a few days to come.</p><p>Luckily no one had got seriously hurt but you were less than happy with the results, especially considering that the thing had escaped and lived to hurt others another day.</p><p>You were taking another swig when the stool beside you squealed across the floor and someone plonked themselves on top, arms resting on the counter.</p><p>From your peripheral you recognised Dean, who was in turn watching you as you tilted the bottle up then lowered it again.</p><p>“Don’t even try giving me a pep talk,” you said after setting the bottle back down.</p><p>“If you don’t want me to, then fine,” he shrugged, “even if I think you need one.”</p><p>“I don’t, I know this is just what happens on the job and we don’t always win but right now I don’t need encouraging, I need to dwell on mistakes.”</p><p>Dean shrugged then went on to catch the bartender’s attention to order a drink for himself, letting you linger in the silence you had asked for.</p><p>This silence lasted for a drawn-out hour.</p><p>You had a couple more drinks while Dean held back, unspokenly agreeing to be your designated driver so that you could beat up your conscience.</p><p>It was a big gesture coming from him and it truly meant the world.</p><p>You knew that you’d be okay, but in that moment you weren’t and that was fine as well.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Gabriel:</strong>
</p><p>“It’s not that bad.”</p><p>“How is it not that bad?” You snapped, glaring at the angel who was stitching up the gaping gash in your side.</p><p>“Well, you could be dead for starters.”</p><p>“As I should be,” you shook your head.</p><p>“Why? Because you made a minor mistake?”</p><p>“It was more than a minor mistake, Gabe!”</p><p>The rolled his eyes and pursed his lips, pressing into your wound harder than he had before, making you hiss and tense up.</p><p>“Sorry,” he grumbled.</p><p>“Sure.”</p><p>You shook your head and looked away from him, glaring towards the turned off television and thinking of how you should have been dead.</p><p>You went to the hideout believing that the creature was singular, a singular pain in the ass but singular all the same.</p><p>When you stormed the thing’s hideout you were taken by surprise.</p><p>There were four of them, four and a half if you included the hungry looking child one.</p><p>Somehow you had made it out alive with all but the little one dead, a large gash in your side immobilizing you from finishing it off.</p><p>You had tried to take a shot at it but even lifting your arm proved difficult.</p><p>Gabriel found you after the little one had escaped and whisked you back to your motel room to fix you up the old-fashioned way, on your persistence of course.</p><p>You felt that you needed to be punished for sucking at your job and the pain of your wound being tended to was sure to kick you back into shape.</p><p>“Maybe I shouldn’t be a hunter,” you mumbled, tone tinged with sadness.</p><p>Gabriel spared you another glance then focused on your closing wound.</p><p>“Don’t,” he sighed, “just don’t.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Lucifer:</strong>
</p><p>“Why are you complaining? So what if you’re not that great at hunting?”</p><p>You shot a cold look at Lucifer, who was shrugging away as if he hadn’t just been a total dick.</p><p>Not that that was anything new.</p><p>“That’s now what I wanted to hear, it’s also not my fault that the family thought it’d be a good idea to split his bones among them.”</p><p>Lucifer’s face twisted into mock disgust.</p><p>“I know, no decency to at least grind him into a paste first.”</p><p>You rolled your eyes and ran a hand over your face, letting yourself fall back onto your bed to stare at the ceiling.</p><p>How were you supposed to know that people thought it was normal to dig up dead relatives to use their bones for twisted witchcraft?</p><p>You’d been working on the hunt at a slow pace and it took you almost four weeks to come to the right conclusion, as opposed to the usual week or so.</p><p>In this time, many enemies of a well-known family within town had been taken down and you were always late to track down the next target and intercept the attack.</p><p>Every.single.time.</p><p>“If I can’t figure out a haunting and witches then you’re right, maybe I am too stupid to be a hunter.”</p><p>“Hey, I never said you were too stupid,” he said, pointing towards you, “I said that you’re not that great at it.”</p><p>You frowned and turned your head to the side, anything to get him out of your sight, even your peripheral vision.</p><p>“Just leave me alone, Lucifer, I don’t need your stupid comments right now.”</p><p>“You know I’m not going anywhere.”</p><p>Your irritation grew at the tone in his voice and it took everything in you to not scream at him.</p><p>It was a moment of weakness to think that he would offer you the words of comfort and encouragement that you needed, but a small part of you hoped that he’d put aside his nature to be caring, just this once.</p><p>“I can dream, can’t I?” You grumbled, rolling onto your side fully in an attempt to ignore him and wallow in your own self-pity.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Sam:</strong>
</p><p>“I can’t believe I let it happen, I was right there and they just…”</p><p>Sam pulled you into a tight hug, resting a hand on the back of your head as the other rubbed your back.</p><p>“I know, I know.”</p><p>“I could have stopped it, Sam, why did I stall?”</p><p>“It happens, it sucks but sometimes we freeze up, we’re only human.”</p><p>You grabbed onto his shirt, tears rolling down your cheeks.</p><p>“But we’re supposed to be able to help, I didn’t help them.”</p><p>The expressions of desperation and pleading flashed in front of your eyes for the hundredth time that night, ones of people that you could have saved if you hadn’t frozen when faced with the skinwalker.</p><p>It had been right in front of you, you had the kill, so why didn’t you take it?</p><p>“Those people are dead because of me.”</p><p>Sam’s fingers massaged the back of your head, taking a deep breath before letting it out in a long sigh.</p><p>“I wish I had the words to make you feel better,” he frowned, “I think all hunters have a moment like this.”</p><p>“We shouldn’t, we’re supposed to save people.”</p><p>“I know, but we’re still human, you have to think of all the other lives that would have died if we didn’t do what we do.”</p><p>“And they’re stuck with the likes of me.”</p><p>“Don’t think that way, you’re a great hunter.”</p><p>You pressed your lips into a thin line, taking a composing breath through your nose.</p><p>Sam continued to hold you, his hand rubbing circles over your back as you attempted to control your crying and breathing.</p><p>The moment lingered, you both holding each other in silence.</p><p>“What am I supposed to do?” You finally asked quietly, looking up at him.</p><p>“You carry on,” he nodded, his face stoic, “we always carry on.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Death Comes A-Knockin' - Request by TheMidnightPhoenix</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Not shocking but warning:<br/>Mentions of death, near death and serious injury.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Castiel:</strong>
</p><p>You turned upon hearing footsteps coming from behind as you stood at the kitchen counter, waiting for the popcorn in the microwave to be ready.</p><p>“Hey,” you smiled, “I was wondering if you’d ever show up.”</p><p>Castiel stood on one spot, unmoving as he stared at you.</p><p>You raised your eyebrow and turned your body towards him, missing the show of the bag expanding in its prison of heat.</p><p>“Are you okay?” You frowned.</p><p>Wordlessly, Castiel stumbled forward and wrapped his arms tightly around you, making you jolt a little before you eventually settled into it and hugged back.</p><p>“Cas?”</p><p>“I’ve been looking for you,” he said, his usual gravelly voice quieter than you expected.</p><p>“Looking for me? I’ve been right here,” you laughed, rubbing his back.</p><p>“There are many ‘here’s, many you’s, but not many who know who I am, Heaven is a vast place and I had to look through a lot of doors.”</p><p>“I see.”</p><p>The two of you stood there, holding one another for the longest time.</p><p>You weren’t sure how long you had been in Heaven, time passed differently there and it hadn’t felt like more than a week that you had been lounging around in your peace.</p><p>Time perception had warped, as had some of your worst memories from before you died, including the memory of how you had died.</p><p>You were simply aware that you were dead and you doubted that it had been peaceful.</p><p>Judging from Castiel’s reaction, you would willingly hazard a guess that your death wasn’t pleasant and things hadn’t settled enough for him to come to you for a long time.</p><p>The fact that he was there with you gave you hope that things were better, that order had been restored and hopefully your friends had made it out alive.</p><p>You didn’t know if that was standard Heaven procedure for your worst experiences to be a haze or if Castiel had somehow managed to influence someone to help, but either way you had been waiting for him to turn up and make your Heaven just that little bit more perfect.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Crowley:</strong>
</p><p>Disappointment would have been an understatement for what Crowley was feeling, even if he’d never outwardly show it.</p><p>He placed the tips of his fingers on your cheek and turned your head towards him, your eyes still open and staring into nothing.</p><p>The hunters had got to you, had captured and tortured you for any information that they could get.</p><p>Those damn blades had been a plague since the Winchesters were told they existed.</p><p>If word was correct, then you hadn’t given up anything and had fought to the end.</p><p>That was something he had always admired in you, your loyalty was incomparable to anyone else he had under his rule.</p><p>With a loaded sigh, he closed your eyes and stood up, sliding his hands into the pockets of his jacket.</p><p>“Dispose of the body,” he said, turning to the other three demons who were stood with him, “and find me the hunter who did this.”</p><p>“Sir-”</p><p>Crowley shot the demon who spoke a sharp look.</p><p>“Of course,” she nodded quickly, moving around him to grab hold of your legs.</p><p>He spared another glance over his shoulder and then disappeared, choosing to interrogate the brothers himself on the off chance that they knew who did it and if not, at least he’d have an outlet for his anger.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Dean:</strong>
</p><p>“Come on, hold on for me.”</p><p>Dean glanced over his shoulder to the backseat, where you were lying with fading consciousness and a loosening pressure on a nasty bite mark.</p><p>“Dean,” you said weakly, your head lolling to the side, “I don’t…”</p><p>“Don’t you dare say it, you’re going to be fine, we’re almost there.”</p><p>“But what if-”</p><p>“No,” he shook his head and tightened his grip on the steering wheel, putting his foot down harder.</p><p>He’d managed to get you into the car, he was going to get you to the hospital so they could fix you up better than a hunter’s bodge it job could.</p><p>“Don’t talk to me like you’re going to die,” he said sternly, “I won’t let that happen.”</p><p>You couldn’t help the faint smile that came to you.</p><p>Your body was starting to feel numb, cold and heavy, you wanted nothing more than to close your eyes and sleep but Dean refused to let you slip away from him.</p><p>It was typical of Dean to be so persistent in his attempts, no matter how futile and hopeless the situation was.</p><p>If there was any word to describe the older Winchester, it would be stubborn.</p><p>“You…you really know…how to make a…. hunter feel sp-special,” you drawled out.</p><p>Dean’s eyebrows furrowed at how far away your voice was, the engine roar almost drowning you out completely.</p><p>“I made a promise when you joined us that I would take care of you and I won’t let you die because of that son of a bitch, you hear me? If you die on me, I’ll kill you.”</p><p>The car screeched around the last corner and the lights from the hospital took over the darkness that had been encroaching your surroundings all the way there.</p><p>He came to a sharp stop and jumped out of the car, racing inside.</p><p>As you started to fade out, you heard his voice disappearing into the hospital.</p><p>“I need help! My partner is dying!”</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Gabriel:</strong>
</p><p>You woke with a start, instinctively grabbing for your throat, the last thing you had felt before your world turned black.</p><p>The vampire had had a vicelike grip on your throat and you thought for sure that your windpipe was obliterated by the strength of the constriction as you were slowly weakening.</p><p>No one was there to help you, you’d foolishly gone in solo and were sure you were to die alone that night.</p><p>Luckily for you, you had an angel on your side who appeared to deal with the sucker who was stood over you looking smug.</p><p>Even though he could easily snap his fingers and be done with it, Gabriel made sure to get in some hard punches before disposing of the vampire.</p><p>All the while you were struggling to breathe in the ground until your world faded, darkness seeped into the edges of your vision and you were gone.</p><p>You weren’t sure how long you were out for, but it had been long enough for you to have been moved to somewhere more private than the rank nest floor you’d been splayed on.</p><p>The bed you were lying in was soft and warm, the most luxurious bed you had slept in for a while and for a flittering moment, you worried that you had died and gone to Heaven.</p><p>You wanted to push yourself up but found that you were still too weak.</p><p>“Let me help you.”</p><p>You jumped as Gabriel leaned over from a chair beside the bed and helped you sit up, resting your back against the headboard of the bed.</p><p>“You had me worried, you know,” he frowned, leaning back in his seat, “I really thought that I was losing you.”</p><p>“What happened?” You asked, your eyebrows furrowing. “Am I still alive?”</p><p>“You are, thankfully,” he shook his head, his leg beginning to bounce with pent up tension, “I got there in time but I was worried I was too late.”</p><p>“I see,” you nodded slowly, lowering your eyes to your hands that were resting in your lap.</p><p>You already felt so tired.</p><p>Gabriel suddenly moved to sit on the edge of the bed and cup your face in his hands, making you look at him.</p><p>The look of utter fear was unlike anything you had ever seen from the angel, his mouth set in a thin line as his eyes watered.</p><p>“Don’t ever scare me like that again.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Lucifer:</strong>
</p><p>“Are you that surprised to find yourself here?”</p><p>You spun on your heel to watch Lucifer approach from a door behind you, his usual smile mocking you.</p><p>“You’re a hunter who let the devil himself be your bunk buddy, you can’t be shocked that you would end up in Hell.”</p><p>“I had an inkling,” you said through gritted teeth, “but I can dream.”</p><p>“Isn’t it wonderful? You get to spend forever with me, training to be a demon.”</p><p>You shook your head and looked away, letting out a harsh laugh.</p><p>“You think I’m going to become a demon?”</p><p>“Yes,” he chuckled, lurching forward to capture your chin between his thumb and forefinger, “the best demon I could ever hope to create.”</p><p>You yanked your head away from his grip, but this only led to him wrapping his arm around your shoulders instead.</p><p>“You’re already dead,” he continued, smiling all the while, “you may as well enjoy your afterlife, think about it, you and me, torturing sinners together.”</p><p>“And other hunters.”</p><p>“Semantics, but the point is that we would be together, like we’re supposed to be.”</p><p>A scoff left you as you turned away from his arm, taking a few steps to create a distance between the two of you.</p><p>It wasn’t as if you hadn’t expected to wind up in Hell after everything was said and done, but a small part of you had hoped that you would avoid this fate.</p><p>Being stuck with Lucifer after an already brutal and violent death wasn’t your idea of how to spend the rest of your eternity.</p><p>However, you also couldn’t deny that you liked the idea a little more than you would ever dare to let on.</p><p>Perhaps Lucifer had warped you during your time together but you liked the thought of a chance for a cushy and lavish demon life, at least lavish compared to the rest of them.</p><p>Chewing on your lip, you turned back to Lucifer with your arms crossed.</p><p>“Why do you want me here? Why aren’t you torturing me?”</p><p>Lucifer only shrugged, moving closer again.</p><p>“What can I say?” He started as he stopped in front of you, “I like your company and I may have grown just a little bit attached to you.”</p><p>You hated yourself, despised the way your stomach flipped and your heart jolted but you couldn’t deny that the idea excited you just a little.</p><p>Eventually you nodded your head, returning his gesture of pinching your face between his fingers by mimicking the action.</p><p>“I think we can maybe strike up a deal.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Sam:</strong>
</p><p>Sam held you tightly in his arms, pressing his jacket against the deep slash in your leg in hopes to stem the flow just a little bit more.</p><p>Blood already saturated the cloth and it was barely recognisable as the brown colour it had started out as.</p><p>Your leg, which had been burning before, started to go numb and cold and you weren’t sure which situation you preferred.</p><p>“I’m going to lose it,” you whimpered, the shaking in your hands refusing to stop.</p><p>“It’s okay,” Sam said softly, “as long as you live, that’s what matters, right? That you stay with me.”</p><p>He lifted his head and looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of headlights in the distance to announce Dean’s arrival before he would hear the roar of the Impala.</p><p>Dean had gone off to chase another lead and you had been attacked by the werewolf during another round of questioning, Sam had been too scared to move you and too fretful to leave you alone to hotwire another car.</p><p>So he’d called Dean to hurry to where he had dropped you both off, that felt like an eternity ago.</p><p>You let out another quiet groan as you tried to shift, your breath coming out ragged as more pain shot through your thigh before settling into uncomfortable numbness again.</p><p>“You’re doing great,” Sam said, sounding distracted, “just keep with me.”</p><p>“I don’t feel very well.”</p><p>“I know, you won’t but you’re going to be okay.”</p><p>You only nodded slowly, your eyelids beginning to feel heavy.</p><p>“Hey, hey,” Sam ushered, gently tapping your cheek you rouse you again, “stay awake, I know it’s hard but please, stay awake.”</p><p>“I can’t…” you mumbled, your head drooping towards him.</p><p>“You can, I know you can,” he said quickly, “just a little longer.”</p><p>Somewhere in the distance came a familiar roar and Sam let out a shuddered huff of relief.</p><p>Looking back to you, he licked his bottom lip and tried to control the quivering that had been threatening to break his composure.</p><p>He had to stay strong for just a little longer.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry about Lucifer's, I just wasn't sure what to do and that just somehow felt right for him, something different.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. The First Date - Request by TheMidnightPhoenix</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Castiel:</strong>
</p><p>“This place is beautiful.”</p><p>You gaped at the horizon before you, unable to find words of the vast expanse that graced your eyes.</p><p>“Dean said that it was a good idea to do something new and exciting, your world has some marvels that you don’t get to see, I hope it’s okay.”</p><p>A short laugh left you.</p><p>How could be not be sure that this was okay?</p><p>He’d brought you to the highest peak of a trail that overlooked an astounding valley and you hadn’t even had to hike to get there at the best point of the day, right as the sunset.</p><p>For someone that didn’t seem to understand romance, Castiel sure had it on point.</p><p>“This is amazing, way more than okay,” you laughed happily.</p><p>Moving closer to the edge, you sat down and dangled your feet over, staring at the expanse of trees and greenery as the light faded in the distance.</p><p>Castiel stayed on his spot for a minute, observing you as you observed your surroundings before he finally stepped forward and sat down next to you.</p><p>Giving him a quick glance, you smiled widely then rested your head on his shoulder.</p><p>He wasn’t entirely sure how to react, all he knew was that he never wanted to push you away, he wanted to always see you smiling like that.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Crowley:</strong>
</p><p>You should have known that there would be a catch to Crowley asking you out on a ‘date’.</p><p>You hadn’t anticipated it being something that you would actually end up enjoying in the end.</p><p>It was basically like a human’s dog walking date, only the dogs were Hellhounds and sometimes your walking would be interrupted by deal collection as opposed to bathroom breaks.</p><p>Crowley took a detour through a dark park, hands in his pockets as ever as you both chatted idly about something other than demon business for a change, Juliette interrupting every now and then to give her master his collection before racing off again.</p><p>You were having a wonderful time.</p><p>In fact, your insides were positively jittery with how happy you were feeling.</p><p>You wouldn’t dare voice it, not wanting to ruin the moment by voicing your true feelings, but you were happy to theorise that he was enjoying himself too and did actually see it as a date.</p><p>Sure, tomorrow would probably go straight back to him yelling, demanding and degrading you but in that exact moment you were content and that was enough.</p><p>If you squinted hard enough, you believed that you could see Crowley smiling when he wasn’t talking, not widely but enough for you to notice it.</p><p>Even if it wasn’t an official date, that made it worth your while.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Dean:</strong>
</p><p>You let out a loud cheer as Dean climbed onto the mechanical bull, sending a wink your way once he had settled.</p><p>With a wide grin, you gave him a thumbs up and called out your good luck.</p><p>The atmosphere in the bar was wild and festive, like everyday was a celebration worth drinking and partying about.</p><p>It was a world of difference to the usual dives that you and the Winchesters frequented and you wondered when Dean had stumbled across it.</p><p>The place was huge, like an adult’s playground with arcade games, the usual sports like darts and pool as well as a small bowling area and the mechanical bull Dean had boasted about being able to dominate.</p><p>You of course took him up on that offer and he looked offended that you would doubt him.</p><p>It was a rare opportunity to let your hair down in a place like this and you were both going to take it, especially considering that Dean was classing this night out as a date.</p><p>He looked up at you as the bull started moving, giving you his boyish smile and a wink.</p><p>“Just you wait, I’ll show you I’ve mastered these things.”</p><p>You rolled your eyes and shook your head, giving him a mocking thumbs down.</p><p>“You doubt me,” he started before the bull turned away from you, leaving you to wait until it had turned back to hear the next bit, “but I’ll show you how hard it can be to ride a bull later.”</p><p>Your eyes widened and you let out a loud laugh, watching as the bull sped up and started bucking.</p><p>“Sounds promising,” you smiled to yourself.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Gabriel:</strong>
</p><p>“I do hope you’ll come back.”</p><p>“We just might, thank you,” Gabriel smiled politely.</p><p>You both smiled at the shop assistant as Gabriel opened the door, a small bell jingling above the door frame as you exited.</p><p>Once the door was closed and you were a few steps away from the store, you looked to the angel.</p><p>“Where’s next?”</p><p>“Next is Little Bryer’s Bakery,” he grinned, “they have a chocolate hazelnut cake I want to try.”</p><p>“Okay, what’s the aliases this time?”</p><p>He gave a small hum, pursing his lips as he thought.</p><p>“How about Mr. Bach and his soon to be fellow Bach.”</p><p>You laughed, kicking a stone down the path as you slid your arm around his to link them.</p><p>“Right,” you nodded, “I say our wedding date this time should be the eighteenth of July.”</p><p>“Oh, a summer wedding,” he chuckled.</p><p>So far, you’d already planned four with this fifth one being the one Gabriel had been most excited for in his ‘fake wedding cake testing’ date plan.</p><p>You stomach was already starting to feel taut and uncomfortable, but the cakes were so delicious that you weren’t willing to quit just yet.</p><p>You were going to go down like the warrior you were with the perfect cake for your future, possibly in the summer, wedding.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Lucifer:</strong>
</p><p>You yelled out for Lucifer, turning on the spot in hopes to see movement through the corn, not that you could see more than a few feet ahead of you.</p><p>Why did he think a corn maze in the dead of night was a good idea?</p><p>As if taking a hunter to a haunted hayride hadn’t been strange enough.</p><p>He’d managed to get you a couple of turns into the maze before yelling; “Catch me!” and disappearing into the abyss of tall stalks and never-ending dead ends.</p><p>Your flashlight barely illuminated your surroundings thanks to a suspicious fog that had descended as you travelled through, which you were more than certain was Lucifer’s doing somehow.</p><p>“This isn’t funny!” You yelled for the tenth time since he’d ran off.</p><p>Silence greeted you yet again and you let out a defeated sigh, deciding that you were going to leave this maze with or without him.</p><p>“If he wants to be lost so badly then I’ll let him.”</p><p>You continued your way through the winding paths, alone and a little irritated and being ditched on your apparent ‘first date’ with the Devil.</p><p>Miraculously, you managed to find one of the exits, whether it was the entrance or the end you didn’t know nor care, and made your way towards it, ready for a warm drink and some heating to toast up your toes.</p><p>Just as you came to the archway, Lucifer lunged out of the corn and captured you in his arms to lift you up and give you a spin as you let out a yell of shock.</p><p>“I knew you’d make it!” He yelled like an excited child.</p><p>It took everything in you to not smack him with your flashlight.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Sam:</strong>
</p><p>You snickered softly as you shuffled closer in the backseat, feeling like a giddy teenager snuggling up to their first boyfriend.</p><p>Sam smiled widely and wrapped his arm around your waist to secure you in place.</p><p>“Can you see it okay?”</p><p>Turning towards the windscreen, you peered out towards the large screen of the drive-in then nodded.</p><p>“I can see just fine.”</p><p>“Great.”</p><p>The two of you settled into the seat, being careful not to spill any of the popcorn you’d bought on your way in as you shifted about and snuck kisses here or there.</p><p>It had taken Sam a while to find a date idea that didn’t involved dinner or bars, so when he came across a drive-thru screening of Zodiac he jumped at the opportunity, the movie being perfect to fill his true crime needs.</p><p>Dean had been reluctant to ‘rent out’ Baby but had given in when Sam promise that you’d keep it PG-13, though that was only for the first date.</p><p>“Though ratings do change,” he had chuckled as he pressed a kiss to your jawline.</p><p>You laughed and rolled your eyes, playfully nudging him away.</p><p>“Sam,” you whined obnoxiously, “I’m trying to watch the movie.”</p><p>“What’s the point? They never catch him anyway.”</p><p>You gasped, mouth falling open in mock offense.</p><p>“Spoilers!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Unrequited - Them for You - TheMidnightPhoenix</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Castiel:</strong>
</p><p>It took Castiel by surprise when he realised that the friendship he felt for you had become something more.</p><p>He couldn’t say for certain when it happened, but it had and that was enough of a complication.</p><p>Typically, Castiel was fine with seeking out answers to things he was uncertain about but there was something different about this situation.</p><p>He wasn’t sure how to approach you about the subject, he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to in the first place.</p><p>You had never looked at him the way supposed lovers would look at one another, you would smile at him more like a friend than a romantic partner, at least from what he could tell.</p><p>There were boundaries he wasn’t confident about pushing, even though the thought of you not returning the sentiment did cause a peculiar pang in his chest.</p><p>There were times when he wondered if asking one of the Winchesters would be a good idea but he always pushed those thoughts aside, not wanting to risk the chance of them telling you what he’d said without his input.</p><p>So he settled for silence and continued admiring you from afar, hoping to one day know if you felt the same way he did about you.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Crowley:</strong>
</p><p>To say it was irritating would have been an understatement.</p><p>Crowley wasn’t one to fall for someone, it wasn’t in his nature and went against everything he exuded and yet there was something about you that drew out feelings he wanted to ignore.</p><p>He wasn’t one for falling in love, even if it was something he wished for deep down in the pits of his rotten, albeit absent, soul.</p><p>That was a secret he had intended to keep until his death, too bad that the Winchesters decided to screw around with things and stuck him with overwhelming emotions because they had to save the day all the time.</p><p>You tried your best to see to his needs but the emotional, almost human version of your boss was creeping you out to the point where you couldn’t even describe how uncomfortable simply walking into the room he was staying in made you feel.</p><p>Any affection you had had for the demon dissipated the more you saw him sniffling on a bed as he watched pathetic soap operas.</p><p>As your affection fell away from him, his grew for you and you found yourselves in a situation neither of you knew how to act upon.</p><p>In the end, you took it upon yourself to give care duties over to another demon and retreated back to your desk.</p><p>Crowley stayed in his room of self-pity, wondering how things had changed so drastically when he could finally give you the one thing you had always wanted from him.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Dean:</strong>
</p><p>A hunter’s life was complicated enough without relationships, especially if you were a Winchester.</p><p>The world was always against you and when something nice finally comes along it was inevitable that things would not go your way.</p><p>Dean thought that he had something promising after meeting you.</p><p>It was a slow but growing relationship and within months he could finally admit that he had developed feelings for you.</p><p>Unfortunately, it seemed as though you didn’t feel the same way.</p><p>Instead you found yourself flirting up a storm with another hunter that you had met on a separate case.</p><p>He knew he didn’t have room to speak, he had bedded plenty of women during his days and hadn’t thought of any potential emotional impact but seeing you laughing and eyeing up someone else tugged at his heart.</p><p>Dean pushed his feelings aside, letting any frustrations out during a hunt when he felt that too many things were mixing inside his head.</p><p>Never one to really speak his emotions, he took solace in his job and the bottom of a bottle.</p><p>He tried to tell himself to be happy for you, he really wanted you to live your best life.</p><p>Dean just wished that it was with him.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Gabriel:</strong>
</p><p>Gabriel wasn’t one for love.</p><p>Sex, yes, but long term, relationship love was not something he would typically care for.</p><p>The angel was happy coasting through life, causing havoc where he could and enjoying being a thorn in people’s side.</p><p>Then a particular hunter came into his life and flipped it upside down.</p><p>Something about you captured his attention more than the mystical people he could conjure from his own imagination.</p><p>You were fierce, wouldn’t take any of his crap and could hold your own against anyone and that was something he admired.</p><p>It captivated him and before he knew it, he was hopelessly captured in a growing crush.</p><p>Unfortunately for him, you showed no signs of being interested in…well…anyone, really.</p><p>You weren’t one for flirting, nor were you one for one-night stands or longing looks.</p><p>Gabriel couldn’t recall you showing interest in anyone during his time with you and while he initially thought that you could possibly come around, he eventually accepted that you simply weren’t into romancing and relationships.</p><p>It was hard, for the first time in a while he wanted something he couldn’t have but he accepted your friendship, comfortable in the knowledge that it would still be the two of you either way, even if it wasn’t how he wanted it to be.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Lucifer:</strong>
</p><p>“How can you not love me?”</p><p>You looked at Lucifer with widened eyes that gradually shifted to a raised eyebrow and a confused grimace.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“You can’t be this dense, everyone would jump at a chance to be with THE Devil himself! I bet even steadfast religious people would so why do you deny it?”</p><p>You rolled your eyes and looked back to your laptop.</p><p>“Maybe it’s that attitude of yours that’s the issue,” you said, already tired of the conversation.</p><p>“Please,” he scoffed, folding his arms, “we all know I’m a charm to be around.”</p><p>“No, only you know that, what I know is that the ‘Devil himself’ throws a hissy fit when someone doesn’t want to kiss him.”</p><p>“I’m not throwing a hissy fit.”</p><p>“It sure looks like one to me.”</p><p>You both stared at one another, neither backing down for the longest time until he scoffed and turned his head away.</p><p>Lucifer wasn’t used to being denied what he wanted, it used to be that he could snap his fingers and have anything he desired in seconds.</p><p>Your persistent resistance to him was a rarity and he couldn’t deny that it kind of excited him.</p><p>He knew you were a tough cookie, but you were one he’d continue to chew on until he’d either won you over or grew bored.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Sam:</strong>
</p><p>If there was one thing Sam was accustomed to in life, it was not getting something he wanted.</p><p>He came around to begrudgingly accepting his lot in life, but that didn’t stop the disappointment when an opportunity reared its head only to be shot down yet again.</p><p>He’d tried to ignore his feelings for the longest time, putting professionalism before everything else to make sure that the case got solved and that lives were saved.</p><p>When a case distracted him it was easy to ignore, unlike when you had downtime and had spare time to spend with one another.</p><p>He had asked you out before, just for some drinks but you had politely declined, saying how you simply weren’t into the dating scene giving your lifestyle.</p><p>Sam accepted it gracefully, as he was given to being who he was though that didn’t stop his pining from being a distraction at times.</p><p>Sometimes he caught himself zoning out while looking at you as you researched, imagining what could be if you ever returned his feelings.</p><p>There was always a chance in the future that something could happen, but he didn’t hold up too much hope on it.</p><p>He let it be a pipe dream while working the occasional case with you, accepting your friendship as having that was better than nothing at all.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Another Ship Sailed - Unrequited - You for Them</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Just to note that I am not a shipper.<br/>I have no ships in any fandom I partake in so the specific ones brought up here are not any I favour and there's no intention to pit any ship against another or to create disruption and arguments. I simply used relationships seen or hinted at in episodes.<br/>I also wrote Sam's one when season twelve first aired and thus before the pointless mess that was Saileen in season fifteen (in my opinion of course), so well done past-Hell for that prediction.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Castiel:</strong>
</p><p>“She’s a demon, Castiel!”</p><p>The angel stared at you with his usual expressionless face before nodding.</p><p>“I know.”</p><p>“’I know’? Is that all you can say?”</p><p>“What would you expect me to say? What’s done is done.”</p><p>You scrunched your nose up in disgust and turned away from him, hardly able to believe what Castiel had confessed to you.</p><p>“An angel and a demon,” you laughed bitterly. “Fan-freakin’-tastic.”</p><p>“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand the issue here.”</p><p>“Of course you don’t!”</p><p>You whirled around to face him again, your anger scaring even yourself and yet you couldn’t control it.</p><p>“It’s wrong, Castiel, it’s like a cat and a dog, it shouldn’t happen!”</p><p>“But Sam-“</p><p>“I know what Sam did and that was just a wrong, but I don’t care about Sam!”</p><p>Your fists clenched tightly by your sides as you took a deep breath, closing your eyes to try and calm yourself.</p><p>This was why you never confessed feelings, it only led to more hurt.</p><p>You had built up the bravery to admit to Castiel how you felt, only to be shot down because of Meg.</p><p>The ache in your heart was indescribable, you had both been so close and you truly believed you were both so open with each other.</p><p>How had you not known about her?</p><p>Perhaps your own affections had blinded you, sure you’d noticed glances between them and her flirting but Meg seemed to have flirty with everyone.</p><p>Castiel stared at you with those sad eyes that would have once made your heart flutter, but now the look only made your stomach churn.</p><p>He didn’t mean to hurt you or even intend for things to go this far and yet here you were, hurt and desperate to rewind the past five minutes.</p><p>“I-“</p><p>“Please don’t,” you shook your head, keeping your eyes closed as it was the only way to hold in the tears.</p><p>Though your eyes ached and your throat hurt from the restraint, you weren’t about to let Castiel see you cry over something that in the long run couldn’t be helped.</p><p>He couldn’t help his feelings as much as you couldn’t help yours.</p><p>Really, you were glad that he had at least been honest with you and hadn’t strung you along, but that was only a small plus in a whole lot of negative.</p><p>“Please just go.”</p><p>Although you couldn’t see him, Castiel stared at your back for another minute before nodding and taking his leave.</p><p>The fluttering of wings was the last thing you heard, signalling that he had left and that you could now let out the sob that was burning your throat.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <strong>Crowley:</strong>
</p><p>“It’s just the human blood, that’s all.”</p><p>This was a mantra you had been replaying over and over in your mind since finding out about Lola and her dealings with Crowley.</p><p>Their intimacy was something she wasn’t quiet about and it sickened you to your rotten core.</p><p>Yes, he was hopped up on human blood like a damn heroine addict, but did he really have to stoop down to that level?</p><p>How could he not see what she was up to?</p><p>He’s Crowley!</p><p>He always knew when people, or demons, were double crossing him in the past.</p><p>Mentally you cursed Sam Winchester, that stupid Gigantor hunter and his last trial bullshit had messed with your beloved boss.</p><p>Now he was a wisp of himself who cried at soap operas and had sex with floozy demons with no self respect and too big an ego.</p><p>It hadn’t taken long for word to slip down the demonic grapevine, reaching your desk outside his office in no time and boy had you seen red and just a hint of green.</p><p>You knew of Crowley’s predicament and decided to work your ass off with deals and keeping his office in check, wanting him to make a full recovery and come back to see that he could relax over things being taken care of rather than stress himself out having to deal with idiotic humans during such a fragile time.</p><p>And perhaps you wanted a bit of unbridled flattery and recognition for your upkeep as well.</p><p>But now you spent more hours plotting on ending Lola’s life than you did working, which had led to a large influx of deals going unsorted.</p><p>That would be Crowley’s problem.</p><p>If he was going to go to use some demonic bimbo’s services rather than take advantage of your pre-existing affection, then why should you work harder just because he’s too much of a wimp nowadays?</p><p>At least that’s what you told yourself for about an hour everyday after arriving at the office.</p><p>It never quite worked out that way.</p><p>Your brief moment of stubbornness dwindled away and you found yourself back to work, trying to keep things sorted for him.</p><p>Though you still plotted on how to get rid of 'her' while sorting deals and sending Hellhounds out.</p><p>You weren’t going to let her slide easily just because there was work to do.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <strong>Dean:</strong>
</p><p>It was his decision and you had to respect that.</p><p>There was nothing you could do further.</p><p>However, watching Dean trying out a normal life with Lisa killed you inside, even if you never voiced it to him.</p><p>You were the friend who would drop by from time to time between cases, making sure that the visits never lasted too long because you didn’t wish to risk Dean’s newly acquired ‘family life’.</p><p>But each visit there were three things that always seemed to stand out to you.</p><p>One was Lisa’s increasingly darkening tan and whitening teeth.</p><p>Another was that Ben could be an annoying little shit.</p><p>And third was that Dean wasn’t completely convincing in acting like he was as happy as he could have been.</p><p>He almost seemed unfulfilled.</p><p>Hunting was what Dean knew and deep down both you and he knew that he enjoyed it, the idea of settling down was a fascinating concept but he was never fully Dean Winchester without a gun in one hand and a beer in the other.</p><p>Dean Winchester was complete when living out of Baby and speeding to the next location.</p><p>Heck, even the times he’d drop into the motel room drunk out of his mind with a woman on his arm or stumble in early in the morning after a night out he seemed more fulfilled than he appeared to be now.</p><p>Sure, those times also started to hurt more as your feelings grew but to see this tempered down version was like a harsher stab in the gut every time you dropped by.</p><p>Did he truly believe he was happy here, or was it just the illusion of a normal life that he believed he was enjoying?</p><p>Either way, there was a twisted satisfaction you had every time you’d drop by and Dean would spark to life as you told him about the cases you had worked on since you last met.</p><p>You knew that you had his undivided attention when talking about a group of werewolves or a couple of poltergeists who had mildly kicked your ass before revenge was sought and you kicked them into the afterlife for monsters.</p><p>Lisa wasn’t fond of your visits, wanting to keep Dean out of and away from the hunting life as much as possible.</p><p>The cold stares she’d give you only spurred you further in your stories.</p><p>It may have been petty, but if she as going to take your Dean away then she was going to have to live with you fighting back for him, even if he didn’t wholly notice your intentions to regain his affections.</p><p>You knew you were acting out of spite and jealousy but damn, did it feel good.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <strong>Gabriel:</strong>
</p><p>You knew that the feelings were pointless.</p><p>They weren’t real, just some twisted illusions created for Gabriel for his own entertainment and to maybe see you get riled up.</p><p>But you still disliked it when he decided that he just had to had the company of scantily clad illusions, especially when there was a perfectly durable person right in front of him.</p><p>That wasn’t to say that he didn’t know of your dislike of his personal entertainment, Gabriel knew fully well but chose to ignore your plights until an argument had broken out and you had disowned him for as long as you could.</p><p>That alone wasn’t an easy task with how annoying and persistent he could be, he’d continued trying to butter you up until your heart had softened and you let him hang around you again.</p><p>That didn’t, however, change any of his old habits.</p><p>Within two weeks of ‘moving back in’, so to speak, you’d come back to the motel room to find him surrounded by busty women in lingerie, some were even feeding him as if he were an ancient God.</p><p>“Really?”</p><p>He looked over at you and smiled, even giving a little wave.</p><p>“What the hell, Gabriel? We’ve talked about this.”</p><p>“Correction, you talked and I got thrown out.”</p><p>“For good reason!”</p><p>With a wave of his hand the women and food disappeared as he sat up on his seat, his eyes never leaving yours.</p><p>“Just listen-“</p><p>“No, Gabriel, you listen,” with a frustrated huff, you fold your arms. “I don’t want to see scantily clad women or men wandering around my room, okay? I have a case to deal with and you are nothing but a distraction.”</p><p>He opened his mouth to reply, a small grunt coming out as his sentence began until you held a hand up to signal his silence.</p><p>“I wasn’t done, it’s ending today or you can go right back to annoying the Winchesters after I kiss your sorry ass goodbye.”</p><p>Gabriel stared at you once you fell into silence, your stern look never wavering.</p><p>Eventually he smirks and lets out a small chuckle.</p><p>“You’d really kiss my ass first?”</p><p>Your mouth dropped open as you continued staring at him, though this time in bewilderment. Gabriel still laughing at your lack of cohesive response and stood up, stepping closer to you to use his index finger to close your mouth for you.</p><p>Needless to say, he took it into consideration.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <strong>Lucifer:</strong>
</p><p>Lucifer wasn’t the type for romantic hold downs, that went without saying.</p><p>But knowing that another woman was bringing his child into the world stung beyond belief.</p><p>He had told you countless times that you were ‘the one’, the one destined to help him raise the little hell raiser, it was your role.</p><p>Taken by some other random woman who happened to be there at a convenient time.</p><p>To be honest you weren’t entirely sure why it upset you, you had always told Lucifer where he could shove it when he’d even joke about you and a nephilim.</p><p>There was no way you, a hunter of the lowest grade, could possibly have believed that Lucifer, the once King of Hell, would actually mean any sweet whispers he’d used to lull you to sleep during his gentler days.</p><p>It was evident that Lucifer felt nothing for Kelly, there was no way with the amount of times he called himself a single parent but that did little to alleviate the disdain you felt knowing she was holding Lucifer’s child.</p><p>Emotions could only be denied for so long at the cost of the wielder and to say you were suffering for keeping them under wraps would be an understatement.</p><p>His constant mentions of being a dad and how proud he sounded whenever he mentioned it was painful, knowing that you wouldn’t be part of it.</p><p>She was however.</p><p>No matter how meaningless she was in the grand scheme of things, knowing she was giving him something you weren’t caused a dark emotion to build up.</p><p>Something you had never experienced in yourself before.</p><p>The jealousy grew into bitter hatred.</p><p>A hatred that both disgusted yet intrigued you, this was a new depth that you’d never reached before and weren’t sure if you had full control over.</p><p>Lucifer on the other hand relished in this new found side of you, even if he hadn’t expressed a notice of change out loud.</p><p>He was just going to sit back and see what happened, though he didn’t doubt that if you were to try anything that’d endanger the child he would drop you where you stood without a second thought.</p><p>It was all a means to an end and one day, you would come around to seeing that too.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <strong>Sam:</strong>
</p><p>There was no denying that there was something there.</p><p>Something that clearly made him happy and had him smiling, those gorgeous eyes of him lighting up when he did.</p><p>It just hurt so much that it wasn’t aimed at you.</p><p>Just like every other time.</p><p>It wasn’t so bad when it was clearly a one off kiss or fling much like with Madison and Sarah, but long term ones were harder to cope with.</p><p>Watching his spiral of depression and desperation was painful, only leading to dark ends for both of you when he’d stooped as low as sleeping with a demon.</p><p>His time with Amelia was hard, watching him try and convince himself that there was affection in a relationship where they were both so clearly just hanging onto each other hopelessly, as if it would help cure their sorrows.</p><p>The therapeutic conversations to help him over the last two had been long and painful, but at least you both continued on as if things were as they ever were.</p><p>You were the supportive friend, the one he could turn to when things were looking bad and the one who couldn't voice your true opinions in fear of ruining what you had.</p><p>But now, seeing him with Eileen twisted your stomach and gripped tightly to your heart.</p><p>Had you ever made him that happy?</p><p>You were near invisible to them as you sat at the table in the bunker, Dean stood in the doorway as they discussed the upcoming nephilim drama.</p><p>The bedroom eyes they were giving each other churned your stomach and you looked away, downing a bit of the beer that you’d all been conversing over.</p><p>And so the afternoon ran into night, plans were made and executed, people were shot and everyone ended up back at the bunker.</p><p>By the afternoon of the day after, Eileen had left and you were left alone with the brothers.</p><p>“You okay?”</p><p>You looked up from your laptop screen to catch Sam’s inquiring eyes and give him a slight nod.</p><p>“Yeah, just fine.”</p><p>You were sure the smile you give him was less than reassuring but you didn’t want to ruin his already slightly down mood.</p><p>He was allowed to like who he wished to after all and you knew that come Heaven or Hell, you’d be there for him.</p><p>No matter how much it hurt to see him happy with another.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. You Thought of Quitting</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Castiel:</strong>
</p><p>“And you’re certain this is what you want?”</p><p>“Yes,” you nodded.</p><p>You sat on the end of your bed, arms resting on your thighs as you laced and unlaced your fingers repeatedly.</p><p>There was no stopping your leg from bouncing during the conversation, whether it was from basic need to move or built up nerves you weren’t entirely sure.</p><p>Castiel stood in front of you, his arms resting limply by his sides as he just stared at you.</p><p>His blue eyes looked down at you with a hint of confusion as, there was no denying that he knew of your hesitance but he would rather hear you express yourself in your own words.</p><p>“No,” you sighed after a beat of silence, one of your hands entangling itself in your hair.</p><p>It seemed that cases had been getting harder for you to deal with lately, both emotionally and physically you had run out of juice and were barely getting by on empty.</p><p>Monsters seemed to be getting tougher, loss weighed heavily on your heart and there seemed to be no end to it all in sight.</p><p>For the first time in a while you regretted being a hunter.</p><p>And this was why you’d called Castiel, you needed to let off some steam and he was the one closest to you. The one you felt most comfortable confiding in.</p><p>“I can’t tell you what to do in this situation,” Castiel sighed faintly as he took a seat next to you on the bed. “All I can tell you is that you’re a great hunter and it’d be a great loss to those who need you, but it’s your decision at the end of the day.”</p><p>“Then why do I feel so bad about my own decision?”</p><p>“Maybe because you know that there are cases out there to work on, people to be saved.”</p><p>“Yeah, you probably have a point there.”</p><p>“But…” Castiel shifted a little in his spot as he trailed off.</p><p>“But what?”</p><p>“But you have to remember that other hunters are out there who can work on those cases and save those people, and sometimes it’s okay to be selfish for your own happiness.”</p><p>You glanced at him from the corner of your eye and couldn’t help but to smile, “Since when were you my angelic guidance counselor?”</p><p>“Since you needed some guidance,” he nodded, returning your smile.<br/> </p><p><strong>Crowley:</strong><br/> <br/>The King let out a small, choked chuckle, pausing briefly to look up at your serious face before resuming his laughter.</p><p>The glare you gave him would have been enough to turn any rational person cold, unfortunately for you Crowley was the one you were facing and he barely flinched at any of your attempted intimidating looks.</p><p>“Oh, you were serious?” He smirked up at you once he’d calmed his laughter down.</p><p>“More than serious,” you nodded in confirmation.</p><p>“Alright,” Crowley shrugged, leaning back in his seat.</p><p>For a moment you felt deflated at his blatant disregard of your announcement, some part of you had thought that he’d at least try to stop you somehow or show some kind of emotion other than dismissal.</p><p>“And where will you go? Hmm?” His question pulled you out of your disappointment. “Well? Will you go to work under Abaddon? Oh wait, I forgot, she’s dead!”</p><p>You stared at him as he got more riled up, but whether it was from humour or infuriation you couldn’t really tell.</p><p>“There’s always Azazel, oh wait he’s dead too.”</p><p>“I get it.”</p><p>“What about Lucifer? No, last I heard he was playing Full House in the cage with Michael.”</p><p>He stared at you, unblinking, for an uncomfortable amount of time.</p><p>You found yourself shifting from one foot to another, averting your gaze to anywhere in the room but him.</p><p>“I thought as much, now get back to work.”</p><p>You could only mumble out a; “Yes sir,” before leaving, head hung like a scolded dog and all hope of leaving and being missed diminished.<br/> </p><p><strong>Dean:</strong><br/> <br/>“Really?”</p><p>Dean glanced at you briefly before he turned his attention back to the road, his expression unreadable though his tone told you that he wasn’t angry or sad about your decision.</p><p>“Kind of, I’ve been thinking about it,” you nodded slowly.</p><p>A relative silence fell over the Impala, only the usual background sounds of car travel surrounded you both, Dean’s  eyes watching the road though it was obvious he had some kind of internal monologue going.</p><p>“What exactly would you do?”</p><p>“I’m not entirely sure,” you replied, looking away from the window to return to looking at Dean. “Maybe get a boring office job, a small apartment and ten thousand cats.”</p><p>“The plan sounds great apart from the cats,” he chuckled faintly.</p><p>“Oh yeah, I forgot you’re allergic to cats.”</p><p>“I’m not allergic,” he rolled his eyes. “I just don’t like them, I don’t get where people are getting the idea I’m allergic to them.”</p><p>“You kind of said so to that cat familiar.”</p><p>“I was just trying to rile him up a bit, witches man.”</p><p>You couldn’t help but laugh, mentally thanking Dean for lightening up the mood in the car.</p><p>It had been hard to admit to him that you had been thinking of leaving the hunting life, partially because you still weren’t completely sure you wanted to but also because you knew that Dean wasn’t likely to ever get that kind of life, no matter how hard he tried or kind of wished for it.</p><p>Although the idea of a peaceful life sounded good to Dean, it was completely different when put into practice. He’d already tried with Lisa, much to your heartbreak, and that hadn’t ended well.</p><p>It seemed like the thought was more pleasant than the practice.</p><p>He was the type to go down swinging and you wondered if perhaps it would be best if you stayed by his side until the end.</p><p>“Tell you what.”</p><p>You snap your attention back to him once again, reprimanding yourself for continuously getting lost in thought.</p><p>“Let’s take a break, you and me,” he smiled a dashing grin at you. “We’ll go find a cabin in the woods near a lake and take a fishing holiday, clear your head a bit and then get back to the hard decision making in about a week.”</p><p>There was something in his eyes that soothed you, after letting out a long breath you slumped back in the passengers seat and nodded.</p><p>“I think I’d like that.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Gabriel:</strong>
</p><p>“I’m done,” you fumed, throwing your weapons onto the bed in anger.</p><p>Gabriel stood on the other side of the bed, staring at you with his eyebrows raised in surprise.</p><p>“Done?”</p><p>“Yes, done.”</p><p>Your jacket slumped on top of the weapons, slick with rain and fresh blood from the creature you had just killed.</p><p>“With what?”</p><p>An agitated hand ran through your soggy hair, the fingers tightly pulling at the roots painfully.</p><p>“Everything!” You snapped, not intending it to come out that way but finding it beyond your control. “Monsters, demons, angels, just all of it!”</p><p>An unnoticed look of hurt flashed across Gabriel’s face as you ranted, too wrapped up in your world of agitation to even look at him.</p><p>“I’m sick of the world being saved only for angels, demons or some other force to put it back into danger, we fight our asses off day in, day out just for things to constantly revert back to how they were.”</p><p>“Wel-“</p><p>“And it’s not like we get thanked for risking our asses either, it’s a repetitive cycle and…and I think I’m done with it all.”</p><p>A brief moment of silence came over the room as you stopped your erratic pacing, your chest heaving a little.</p><p>“So you’re done with me, huh?”</p><p>You looked at him, frowning in confusion, “What?”</p><p>“You said you were done with everything, including angels, which I just so happen to be.”</p><p>Your frown deepend and you shook your head, slowly moving closer to him, “No, Gabe, I’m just done with this job and the other angels, never you.”</p><p>“Right," he said slowly, not sounding convinced, "so what do you plan to do?”</p><p>“I don’t know,” you sighed in defeat. “Maybe I should leave hunting.”</p><p>You sat down on the bed, Gabriel eventually moving to sit next to you and wrapping his arm around you.</p><p>“Think it through and if you’re certain, I’ll take you away from it all.”</p><p>With a resigned sigh, you leaned against him, your head resting against his shoulder as you closed your eyes.</p><p>“Thank you.”</p><p>
  <br/>
  <strong>Lucifer:</strong>
</p><p>“So quit then.”</p><p>You looked at Lucifer and frowned, shaking your head.</p><p>“I can’t just quit.”</p><p>“Then don’t quit.”</p><p>“But I’m fed up all this crap.”</p><p>“Then quit,” he groaned, rolling his eyes. “It’s not that difficult.”</p><p>There was a horrible thumping in your head from the over thinking and conflict rattling inside your mind, Lucifer not being the ideal candidate to help with your predicament.</p><p>Hunting had become a bit monotonous and tiring.</p><p>You knew it was for the greater good, but realistically it felt like you weren’t making a difference at all and the entire process seemed pointless.</p><p>You and other hunters risked your lives so no one knew that their lives were ever in danger so close to home, a blanket of comfort.</p><p>A few hunts ago, you started to wonder if you were even making a difference and ever since that blip thoughts of quitting endlessly ran through your head.</p><p>Lucifer hadn’t been any help in assisting with your dilemma, the amount of times you’d had this conversation were already uncountable.</p><p>The fence you were sitting on was getting more uncomfortable and it seemed you’d have to get off soon unless permanent damage became a large issue in your life.</p><p>“I mean, if you leave I’ll have to go through the inconvenience of finding company, but it’s up to you.”</p><p>“What?” You looked at Lucifer, perplexed by his sudden statement.</p><p>He looked over with raised eyebrows before smirking, “Oh, you didn’t think ‘this’ was a serious thing, did you?”</p><p>He tutted a little while leaning forward in his seat, his elbows resting on the table top as his chin sat atop his hands.</p><p>“No, this is a relationship of pure convenience to me.”</p><p>Your throat tightened and you had a sneaking suspicion that your eyes would prick with tears if he continued, though you tried to fight it all down and save face in front of Lucifer.</p><p>Despite knowing it was a terrible choice, you had grown attached to him emotionally and he had played along with your affections.</p><p>Foolishly you had let yourself believe that he genuinely returned your feelings, but now it was hard to tell if he was being honest or just saying this to help you make your decision faster in the worst way possible.</p><p>You knew by this point that if it meant leaving him behind, you’d never pick leaving.</p><p>“Tell you what, I’ll give you a day to yourself,” he hummed, standing from his seat. “Think it over and get back to me, okay?”</p><p>With a sly grin, Lucifer disappeared and left you alone as a stray tear slowly rolled down your cheek.</p><p><br/><strong>Sam:</strong><br/> “Then I’ll go with you.”</p><p>A small laugh escaped you as your eyes met Sam’s, the eyes you admired for their stunning mixture of colours.</p><p>“Sam, you’re like a prophetical hunter,” you smiled playfully. “You’re needed on the field, I’m not.”</p><p>“Of course you are,” he frowned a little, as if the thought was as obvious as day.</p><p>“I’m really not, you don’t see angels and demons and God himself stumbling over themselves for me.”</p><p>Sam let out a huff and sat up straighter in his position on the bed, glancing around the room briefly before catching your gaze again.</p><p>“Who cares about them? You’re important…no,” he shook his head and you saw his eyes soften a little as he let a small smile slip onto his lips. “You’re ‘needed’ by me.”</p><p>You felt your heart skip a few beats and your blood ran cold for a second, butterflies danced in your stomach as you stared at him.</p><p>The mixture of emotions almost made you nauseous.</p><p>“Really?”</p><p>“Of course, I wouldn’t say it otherwise.”</p><p>“You sure you’re not just trying to butter me up into staying?”</p><p>He laughed, “Depends, is it working?”</p><p>“Maybe a little,” you smiled wryly.</p><p>You had a clear romantic relationship with the younger Winchester and though neither of you ever officially called the other their boyfriend, girlfriend or partner, it went unspoken that those were your statuses to one another.</p><p>Any romantic actions were reserved for the motel room or, very rarely, the car during long travels.</p><p>Aside from subtle hand holding or occasional touches at, you both tried your hardest to keep the relationship as private and hidden as you could from the outside world.</p><p>Like your own personal secret.</p><p>It was understandable as to why Sam may have been hesitant to put an official status on your relationship and you weren’t going to push him to say anything either, you were both comfortable in the unspoken knowledge of what you were and that was why you were giving him warning.</p><p>“I just don’t want to lose you,” he said after a moment. “With everything after Jessica’s death, I finally feel happy.”</p><p>“I understand.”</p><p>“I know, but I need to say it,” Sam took a deep breath and cleared his throat. “Aside from small flings, I haven’t had anything like this and I know it’s selfish but I’m not ready to lose it yet.”</p><p>“You do tend to fall for people really easily Sam, faster than Thor even, and there was Ruby,” you replied, albeit hesitantly. </p><p>“She wasn’t anything but a supplier,” he frowned, looking towards the bed regretfully, "and you helped me through that, despite how much I pushed you away…I can’t lose that support again.”</p><p>You sighed and reached over to take one of his hands in a form of comfort.</p><p>“If you really want to join me, you’re welcome to,” you started, trying to be comforting, “but perhaps I’ll be okay hunting with you by my side, we can be one another's support system.</p><p>He gave you a grateful look and gently squeezed your hand in response, no further words needing to be exchanged between the two of you.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. You Are Expecting - Request</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Castiel:</strong>
</p><p>You stared at the angel, chewing on your lip nervously.</p><p>Castiel stared back in return, his expression unreadable.</p><p>Although this is nothing new, in that moment you felt like you desperately needed some kind of reaction.</p><p>“Please at least say something, Cas,” you frowned at him.</p><p>The uncomfortable aura in the room had quickly gotten suffocating, the air felt thicker and made your chest feel tight with each breath.</p><p>It had taken a while for your courage to build up to this point, the thought of telling him was a terrifying prospect and yet it had to be done.</p><p>He’d find out eventually anyway.</p><p>“I am uncertain what to say.”</p><p>“Anything!” You yelled, needing to just hear something from your angelic boyfriend. “Just tell me how you feel, anything is better than the nothing I’m getting.”</p><p>“It’s not an easy thing to think about, I’m happy but cautious, our child won’t be like the others.”</p><p>“I know,” you sighed, running a hand through your hair.</p><p>“They’ll be nephilim and it scares me, I’m happy this has happened,” he looked at you desperately, “but I’m terrified of them being hunted.”</p><p>You let out a sigh and walked over to Castiel, wrapping your arms tightly around him as you buried your head into his chest.</p><p>“I know, which is why I need you for this,” you muffled against his shirt and tie.</p><p>Castiel looked down at you, so many emotions he still wasn’t accustomed to running through him that he was confused but he still wrapped his arms around you in return.</p><p>“I will do what I can for you both.”<br/><br/></p><p>
  <strong>Crowley:</strong>
</p><p>“Tell me you’re kidding.”</p><p>Crowley stared at you from his throne, his head resting on an open palm as his face contorted in an expression of pure unamusement.</p><p>“I’m not, but it’s not even definite yet.”</p><p>“It better not be, I already had one child I couldn’t stand,” he grimaced and rolled his eyes at the thought of his human-self’s son. “I don’t need another to hate.”</p><p>“But you might not hate this one.”</p><p>“Of course I will, children are a nuisance,” Crowley scoffed. “They cry and vomit all over the place, you have to change them and they’re just there, hanging around and wanting things for years.”</p><p>You looked at the King with wide eyes, you knew he hated his son but this amount of vitriol was a shock even to you.</p><p>“So what if I am?”</p><p>“If you are, you are, doesn’t mean I’ll like it any more or any less.”</p><p>“I don’t know why I even bothered to tell you, like you’d even care.”</p><p>Crowley only gave you a shrug in response, accompanied by a look that suggested that it was bit of an obvious statement that went without saying.</p><p>You felt anger boiling up in you, he had completely destroyed what could have been a happy moment and new beginning for you both.</p><p>“I knew I should have slept with a Winchester,” you spat before storming out of the room.<br/><br/></p><p>
  <strong>Dean:</strong>
</p><p>“And you’re sure?”</p><p>You nodded at him, pulling your lips to one side.</p><p>Dean smiled, something in his eyes lit up. A whole new expression you’d never seen from him before, it made your heart swell with hope.</p><p>“I’m going to be a dad,” he grinned.</p><p>Pulling away, he looked you over as if you were a complete marvel,repeating the sentence a few more times and smileing wider each time he did so.</p><p>“Yes,” you laughed in return. “You are.”</p><p>Your eyes trailed him as he moved in short paces, clearly the penny had completely still in shock and full of a new kind of adrenaline.</p><p>This was his initial reaction and just the fact it was so positive meant so much to you.</p><p>“<em>We</em> are going to be parents,” he stopped in front of you. “That means we’ll have to change so much.”</p><p>You nodded in agreement, being hunters you knew that it wasn’t going to be easy. However you did live in the bunker now, which was much safer than hopping from motel to motel as you were carrying.</p><p>“The baby can have their own nursery and we can decorate it with cars-“</p><p>“It might be a girl, Dean.”</p><p>He looked at you as if you'd lost your mind, "And? She might still want cars on her wall, not like she'd have a choice."</p><p>You rolled your eyes and shook your head, "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."</p><p>“Fine, if it is can we at least call her Chevy?”</p><p>“We’re not naming out daughter Chevy Winchester.”</p><p>“Oh come on!”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Alright,” he huffed in defeat and crossed his arms. “Can it at least be the middle name for a boy?”</p><p>This pulled another laugh from you, eventually you knew that the more serious talks would come up, Dean would become more thoughtful and some of those thoughts would be dark, but you’d make it through together.</p><p>And maybe put somewhere Chevy in your child’s name.<br/><br/></p><p>
  <strong>Gabriel:</strong>
</p><p>“Oh.”</p><p>“Oh? That’s all?”</p><p>You stared at Gabriel who was frowning as a mixture of emotions clearly danced in his eyes.</p><p>Being who he was, you had figured he would have been happy to hear that he was going to be a dad. Having his own little prankster to teach the best methods of teasing to, a little one to share his sweets with when he was feeling generous.</p><p>And all you got was; “Oh.”</p><p>“I thought you’d be happy,” you said sullenly after a moment of silence.</p><p>“I am!” He quickly defended, though his expression still betrayed him. “It’s just…”</p><p>“Just what, Gabriel?”</p><p>There was something about how he looked that made you uneasy, Gabriel was always so sure of himself and full of confidence. This meek and quiet man wasn’t the angel you’d grown close to, the angel that nothing ever seemed to affect.</p><p>“That child will be a nephilim,” he mumbled.</p><p>“I know, a child born of angel and human,” you nodded.</p><p>“I don’t think you understand what that means.”</p><p>You frowned and shook your head, looking at him unsurely.</p><p>“Does it matter?”</p><p>“Of course it matters!” You flinched a little at the sudden raise in his voice. “They will be hated and hunted for their entire life, never able to rest because someone will always be after them.”</p><p>“So we’ll be sure to keep them safe.”</p><p>“And if we can’t?”</p><p>The broken and almost desperate look Gabriel gave you caused your heart to crack, it even looked like there were tears welling in his eyes. Something rarely seen from the cocky being.</p><p>“We will, Gabriel, if anyone can you can.”</p><p>In the blink of an eye he strode over to you and pulled you against him in a tight hug, you could almost swear you could feel his hands shaking.</p><p>“I promise to do my best for both of you.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Lucifer:</strong>
</p><p>“Is that so?” Lucifer smirked, his eyes immediately dropping to your stomach. “Good.”</p><p>You couldn’t help but blink and flinch in surprise.</p><p>That definitely wasn’t how you expected Lucifer to take the news of becoming a father, even if you doubted that it was his first biological child.</p><p>Though you didn’t want to ask for real numbers and hoped otherwise at times.</p><p>“Really?”</p><p>“Yes, it’s great!”</p><p>Now his enthusiasm was beginning to make you feel a little uneasy.</p><p>Lucifer had proven to be a bit more active and giddy than you’d expected the Devil himself to be, sometimes you’d even go as far as to call him annoying and childish, but this was a whole new level of energy radiating from him.</p><p>“Just imagine the power this child is going to have,” he grinned. “We could use it to get that damn leech Crowley off my throne.”</p><p>You rolled your eyes and rubbed your forehead, you knew there was some ulterior reason for him to be this excited.</p><p>“We’re not using the baby as a weapon, Lucifer.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Sam:</strong>
</p><p>“That’s great,” Sam smiled at you, though you could see it was a smile of happiness mixed with uncertainty.</p><p>“But?” You pushed with a light frown.</p><p>“But, we’re hunters.”</p><p>“I’m aware of that and I've accepted that it won’t be easy.”</p><p>“No, you’re right, things will be coming after them all the time.”</p><p>“And we’d be there to protect them.”</p><p>You placed a hand on Sam’s arm as a form of comfort, admittedly you had expected this reaction, it’s just how Sam was.</p><p>He’d worry for the next nine months about every little thing, he’d rush back and forth between you and cases to make sure the baby was alright and wasn’t in danger, if he couldn't then he'd be calling you every five minutes.</p><p>Heck, you highly doubted you’d be allowed to leave the bunker now, not until the child was eighteen at least.</p><p>“What if we’re not?”</p><p>You looked up at Sam, who was staring at his hand which were folded in his lap, a deep frown contorting his face sadly.</p><p>“We will be there to the best of our abilities,” you replied, replacing your hand with your head in a makeshift hug, your arm sliding around his back to rest on his side.</p><p>He only nodded, you both sat in a slightly uncomfortable silence, each of you staring in different directions.</p><p>“I’ve done some terrible things,” he muttered after a moment.</p><p>“They don’t need to know that until you’re ready to tell them,” you replied automatically.</p><p>With another small nod, Sam adjusted your positions so he could wrap an arm around your waist.</p><p>When you looked up at him, you saw this his eyes were now trained on your stomach, possibly imagining the bump that was soon to grow with his child inside.</p><p>“Don't think that I hate the idea, I am happy.”</p><p>“I know you are, Sammy.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Trick or Treat - Halloween AU Special</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Warning: Canon typical hauntings, beings, violence and details of road accidents.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Castiel:</strong>
</p><p>The searing pain was unbearable and made the road you were lying on all the more uncomfortable.</p><p>There was a stone pushing into your back, or perhaps it was the tail of your cat costume, but you couldn’t move to reprieve yourself of that small bit of grief.</p><p>In fact you couldn’t move anything but one arm and your head, though even a small head movement caused a blinding headache to smash through your skull like the Hulk was trying to escape from inside.</p><p>Flashing lights were blocked by the blurry shadows of people who loomed over you and though you registered that they were calling out to you, the sound was distorted and garbled.</p><p>Everything was hurting, well everything except your legs, those you couldn’t feel.</p><p>Breathing was laboured, you could feel something rattling in your lungs each time you tried to breathe in.</p><p>Your eyes very slowly scanned the crowd, though one eye was harder to see through, no doubt due to the blood that ran down your forehead.</p><p>For a brief moment you thought your vision was clearing, there was a single man that stood out among everything else but that theory was pushed aside when you realised that everything else was still a blurry haze.</p><p>Unlike everyone else who was crouched over you this man stood as straight as pole, his eyes slowly roaming over your broken body and his expression nothing but sorrowful.</p><p>There was something calming about him, there even seemed to be a faint glow around his handsome features.</p><p>For a split second where you could have sworn that you could make out some broken, black wings within the light he resonated, sprouting beautifully from the man’s back.</p><p>“Y-You’re an an-angel,” you barely managed to pant out, your voice barely recognisable even to yourself in your delirious state.</p><p>His stunning blue eyes met your own and despite the amount of sadness held within them you still found yourself smiling at him.</p><p>It was this uncontrollable surge of hope that caused you to smile, had you the energy or cohesion you would have scolded yourself.</p><p>“You…you c-came to help m-me.”</p><p>The man’s eyes bored into yours, his look still not being one of comfort but more of melancholy.</p><p>“I’m really sorry,” he frowned as he stepped closer, holding his hand out. “I’m not sure what you thought, but I’m not here to save you.”</p><p>You stared up at him, your eyebrows knitted in confusion.</p><p>“But you’re an angel,” you gasped through the pain in your ribs.</p><p>“I am,” he nodded in confirmation, “but I’m not here to heal you, I’m here to pass your soul over.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>Your breathing was becoming shallower as it gradually began to get harder to pull air into your lungs, it seemed the closer his hand got to you the worse it was.</p><p>“I’m here to lead you on, that is my duty as Death.”<br/> </p><p><strong>Crowley:</strong><br/> <br/>“Oh Fergus,” you cooed, looking down at the helpless human with a fond smile, “that look of yours is far too satisfying.”</p><p>The young man stared up at you helplessly, unable to move due to the hellhound that was pinning him down by his arms, large paws practically crushing the bones beneath.</p><p>“You.”</p><p>“Yeah, me,” you laughed as you walked over to him, leaning down to grin in his face monstrously. “Surprise.”</p><p>“It hasn’t been ten years,” he gasped, the weight of your hellhound crushing his waist.</p><p>“Oh, it has,” you stood over him with a smirk. “Doesn’t time fly by when you’re in the double digits?”</p><p>“You’re lying.”</p><p>“Everyone sure likes to think that when the times comes.”</p><p>Your hellhound looked up at you, eagerness for his prize shining in his red eyes, his tail wagging as any dog would when they were about to receive a treat.</p><p>This one had been stewing for ten years and your darling pooch always did love the drawn out ones best, they had a better taste to the kill.</p><p>Not that anyone would admit it, especially someone like Fergus, but they’d live each day in fear after making their deal.</p><p>It was delightful and added a delicacy to their taste.</p><p>You were a crossroads demon who didn’t make many deals, this was mostly so that you could dedicate time to watching the paranoia of your victims grow.</p><p>Year by year they’d start to get more cautious and you delighted in watching them continuously glancing over their shoulder, jumping at every small shadow when they were alone, believing that they were being watched at every turn.</p><p>Which was more truthful than they'd ever accept.</p><p>They couldn't see you, but you were always there, ready to pounce the second the hourglass stopped.</p><p>“It’s been fun, Fergus, I think you were my favourite to watch,” you sighed, a little sad at losing your best source of entertainment, “but it’s time.”</p><p>You look at your hellhound and give the signal, with eagerness he dug his claws into Fergus’ arms and dragged them down.</p><p>He screamed in pain as his skin tore open and blood poured from the large gashes, all the while you were staring down at him in pleasure.</p><p>His soul was going to be a tough one to beat for the title of your favourite collection.<br/> </p><p>
  <strong>Dean:</strong>
</p><p>“Come on,” he smirked as his eyes briefly flashed a terrible shade of red. “I thought we were having fun.”</p><p>“We were until you freakin’ bit me!” You yelled, your hand pressing tightly against the wound he had unexpectedly inflicted on you.</p><p>“Hey, I tried to be polite about it,” Dean shrugged. “Not my fault I got a little bored and very hungry.”</p><p>You stared at him in surprise, he only grinned back.</p><p>Blood dripped off the fangs he’d kept hidden all night, your blood.</p><p>To think it had started out like any other night.</p><p>You’d been online dating for a while now and had arranged to go on quite a few in person dates, unfortunately too many had been duds or completely different to how they describe themselves, surprise surprise.</p><p>Then you came across Dean Winchester’s profile and he seemed perfect, funny and most of all handsome.</p><p>To say you were hasty to arrange a date would be an understatement, the time it took between you sending the initial message and him responding was the most nerve-wracking thirty minutes of your life.</p><p>So many doubts ran through your mind and more than a few insecurities sprung up after you extended the proverbial olive branch, somehow you had already convinced yourself that you weren’t going to get far with someone like him.</p><p>Your heart leapt when he responded and from there you both spent hours talking, getting to know one another before finally setting up the date of a lifetime and all before bedtime, what a bonus.</p><p>You were not going to let this one get away.</p><p>The day of the date reared its head quickly and before you knew it, you were being picked up in a stylish car that of course a man like Dean would have.</p><p>By the end of the night, as far as you were concerned the date had gone well.</p><p>There were no indications that things had gone badly and you were more than eager for things to get heated.</p><p>It had been a few months since you’d been with anybody and you wouldn’t have minded a bit of fun with Dean, even with a bit of biting involved.</p><p>But nothing like this.</p><p>The new Dean in front of you stepped forward, licking blood from his bottom lip as you stepped back in retaliation, wanting to keep as much distance between you as you could.</p><p>“Get away from me!” You screamed at him, one hand still clasped firmly to your neck.</p><p>Blood was still seeping out of the wound, sticking to your fingers and decorating your clothes.</p><p>You were already starting to feel the effects of blood loss, just how deep had he bitten?</p><p>“You sure you want me to?” He chuckled, definitely more at you than at his mocking. “Because it’s clear you’ve wanted to get up real close to me all night.”</p><p>With a movement you’d become too woozy to dodge, he slammed you against the wall with his large hands on your shoulders, pinning you tightly.</p><p>The back of your head slammed against the brick wall behind you with force, causing a searing pain to shoot through you skull and making your current condition worse.</p><p>A smirk played on his lip, one side curled up cruelly to show off the sharp teeth jutting from his gums.</p><p>He was enjoying your torment, your torture.</p><p>“And I’ve been waiting to get up close to you since we started talking," he chuckled, opening his mouth as he leaned in.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Gabriel:</strong>
</p><p>Gabriel panted heavily, his back pressed against the wall behind him.</p><p>His hands were going cold, the wallpaper offering no insulation from the chill in the house.</p><p>The temperature had dropped drastically at some point in the night and ever since things had taken a drastic shift, such as two of his friends who had entered the house with him having disappeared.</p><p>An hour had passed since then and he still couldn’t find a way out, all the windows were somehow sealed shut and any door leading outside refused to budge.</p><p>His hope was dwindling fast, in various distant parts of the house at random intervals he would hear a scream of fear or anguish and each time it sent an unpleasant shudder down his spine.</p><p>As another ragged breath escaped his throat, he saw a puff of mist float from his lips and frowned in confusion.</p><p>This had been happening quite regularly as he ran from a barely seen figure, the dark silhouette of a thing only ever caught in the corner of his eye as he ran room to room, desperately trying to find a way out.</p><p>All he could tell from the brief glances was that the thing chasing him was human, but male or female he couldn’t tell, nor did he particularly care.</p><p>They’d all been stupid to dismiss the rumours of this place, laughing it off like typical thick headed young adults and trespassing like it was nothing.</p><p>How they’d come to regret that spontaneous decision now that they were being picked off one by one.</p><p>A surge of adrenaline pumped through him out of nowhere, his determination once again welling up in his chest as his mind rushed to configure a plan.</p><p>Find a weapon, break a window, escape.</p><p>Do anything but stand there, pressed against the wall uselessly.</p><p>The skin of his cheeks began to burn as two, freezing cold hands slowly moved through his hair and finger tips danced across his cheek bones.</p><p>From over his left shoulder, a paler than death figure slowly shifted through the wall behind him, a playful yet haunting smile gracing your lips as your usually dull eyes brightened with mirth.</p><p>A cold, unfeeling giggle managed to slip past your lips as you pressed your fingers harder into his skin, making his face burn with searing pain.</p><p>“I found you.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Lucifer:</strong>
</p><p>A large crack filled the air.</p><p>Skin split deliciously at the contact of a whip, cattails covered in brutal thorns.</p><p>The chained male let out a loud cry as his body tensed before once again going lax, his head hanging as he whimpered and panted.</p><p>A sigh of disappointment sounded from behind him, shoes tapping on the floor as the looming, hideous figure paced back and forth.</p><p>“Such a shame,” a teasing rasp chuckled. “You seemed to promising, yet you’re already wearing down.”</p><p>He lifted his head tiredly though he saw nothing clearly, his eyes were unfocused to the twisted world around him.</p><p>Long, clawed fingers curled into his hair and you yanked his head up, leaning down to his level you smirked.</p><p>Foul breath ghosted over his face, but he was too tired to even try to turn his head away.</p><p>“I know it’s my job to strip your soul of everything,” you mocked, “but I was hoping you’d have more than five years of resilience in you.”</p><p>Your other hand came up to cup his face, claws digging into his cheeks.</p><p>“Are you ready to give up?”</p><p>He looked up at you, his eyes finally focusing on the monstrosity in front of him.</p><p>Ugly twisted features, broken horns and disgusting teeth that sneered at him.</p><p>“N-No,” he stammered, letting his eyes close slowly.</p><p>Your eyebrows raised in surprise before you let out a cruel laugh and let go of him, letting him fall back against the wall harshly.</p><p>You licked his blood from your claw-like fingernails then licked your lips.</p><p>“So you are putting up a fight, I’m must say I’m impressed.”</p><p>You stepped back then walked around him to the table containing your implements of torture.</p><p>“Let’s see how much longer I have to twist you into the perfect demon.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Sam:</strong>
</p><p>“Do you see anything?”</p><p>“No, should I?”</p><p>You looked towards your neighbour, worrying your bottom lip with your teeth as he looked at you in concern.</p><p>It had been about five months now that you’d lived in your secluded countryside house and everything was peaceful, except for some nights when you could hear shuffling and scratching outside, but being in the countryside you never thought anything of it.</p><p>Until that morning when you found claw marks on your window sill, deep and jagged.</p><p>“No, I guess not,” you sighed, running a hand through your hair. “Never mind, I was just on edge because of those scratches.”</p><p>You couldn't help but to laugh at yourself, Sam’s faintly amused smile offering further reassurance.</p><p>“Sorry for dragging you over, I know it’s getting late.”</p><p>“It’s fine, can’t have you worrying yourself stupid can I?” He laughed lightly. “Besides, it’s not that late.”</p><p>“I guess not,” you smiled in embarrassment. “Let me at least get you a drink for your troubles, if you have nothing else to do, of course.”</p><p>Sam shrugged his broad shoulders with a slight shake of his head, his eyes briefly flickering back towards the window.</p><p>Probably looking at the scratches again.</p><p>“Sure, I have time.”</p><p>“Great,” your smile widened, your tone more enthusiastic than you wanted. “I have tea, coffee, hot chocolate? Oh, I should have some beer.”</p><p>Not that you were going to admit it openly, you personally didn’t drink beer out of pleasure but had bought some for such the occasion of getting your neighbour over.</p><p>It wouldn’t be pushing the boat out too much if you admitted to having a tiny crush on the handsome man.</p><p>“A beer would be great,” he nodded.</p><p>“Awesome, make yourself at home and I will be right out.”</p><p>You span on your heel and headed to the kitchen, smiling proudly at the fact that you had managed to ask him to stay and grinned even wider about his agreeing.</p><p>After taking the cold beers from the fridge, you grabbed your bottle opener from the recesses of the cutlery drawer.</p><p>With a bit of elbow grease you snapped the top off the bottle, which was accompanied by a prompt crash and groans of pain coming from the living room, causing you to jump and almost spill the contents of the bottle all over the side and yourself.</p><p>“Sam? You okay?” You called out, concern rising upon receiving no spoken word in return.</p><p>However, there were sounds of scuffing, panting and unpleasant snapping, all of which caused your blood to run cold and froze you to the spot until, after what felt like a couple of tense hours, the noises died down.</p><p>You called out to him again, though your voice didn’t sound as confident as you’d have liked and a part of you cringed at the weakness.</p><p>Gradually your feet led you automatically towards the doorway, the bottle opener clenched tightly in your hand like some form of reassuring weaponry.</p><p>Slowly looking around the wood your heart stopped.</p><p>Your coffee table was in splinters on the floor, a large lamp was smashed and various ornaments were broken.</p><p>But nothing was as bad as the large, wolf-like figure standing in the center of the carnage.</p><p>Tattered clothes hanging off its muscular frame, large teeth bared and glistening with saliva.</p><p>As you came into view he let out a low, threatening growl and his eyes never leaving your petrified frame.</p><p>All you could see in his stare, aimed directly at you, was a hunger that you believed to be murderous intent.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. The Baby Is Coming - Request by TheMidnightPhoenix</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So the formatting on this one is a little different, but I felt it was the best way to set up what was going on for both characters in the scenario.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The room was filled with groans, curses and laboured panting.</p><p>It wasn’t the most dignified of moments, lying akimbo while pushing with all your might as your partner in reproductive crime stood near the bed.</p><p>The hours had passed slowly as the discomfort reached a crescendo, apparently no amount of reading could prepare you for just how hellish this moment would truly be.</p><p>You thought that you were ready for it until it started, then you were thrown through a loop and realised just how far from ready you were.</p><p>Was parenthood even your thing?</p><p>Your situation was so unusual that you weren’t entirely sure, it wasn’t like they made overly soppy and dramatic shows about the likes of you and the father’s case.</p><p>You grit your teeth and leaned into another push, those concerns would have to be dwelled upon later.</p><p>Meanwhile…</p><p><strong>Castiel</strong> watched with trepidation, his hand resting on your forehead as he tried to keep the pain at bay but concentrating on that and the incoming baby becoming a complicated distraction.</p><p>He was still in disbelief that this was happening, he was the father to a nephilim, he would have to protect both you and the baby from all kinds of enemies who would do anything to seek out that child’s power.</p><p>Despite all the fears that flourished more with each uncomfortable push from you, Castiel found himself excited to meet his child after a strangely dragging nine months.</p><p>He had never had a true concept of time until this happened, never had human days felt so long.</p><p>With another groaned push from you, a loud cry filled the room and you fell back, panting heavily as sweat ran down your forehead.</p><p>The ordeal was over and after eleven hours you could finally hold your daughter.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Crowley</strong> was surprised to find himself waiting in the room as you pushed out his hell spawn, almost as surprised as he was when he found himself rushing to the room you were in upon hearing of it starting.</p><p>It had been a long time since he’d witnessed a birth, his dead son’s happening so many centuries ago that the nuisances of parenthood were long since forgotten.</p><p>Nine months had passed with his complete disinterest, why did he find himself needing to be in the room now?</p><p>He watched with growing…eagerness?...as you yelled curses at him and the demons who were standing in as nurses, though he expected them to be as competent at this as they were with actually being demons.</p><p>They were, at least, giving you some form of pain relief so there was that, he supposed.</p><p>Crowley could only watch, drink in hand as you spent eight hours pushing his son into the world.</p><p>Oh, the things he would teach that boy.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Dean</strong> thought that he had been prepared.</p><p>After many talks with Sam about uncertainties, even if they spent weeks building up until the point of exploding, and self-motivated research, he truly thought he was ready for this moment.</p><p>Boy, was he learning how wrong he was.</p><p>You continued to break his hand as you pushed your little miracle into the world and all his preparation had gone out the window.</p><p>In fact, it had as soon as you told him that your contractions were kicking in.</p><p>He’d had a few moments in his life where his mind just went blank, but never had it felt as drastic as it did in that moment.</p><p>Dean Winchester was used to winging this and raising his son would be the ultimate form of ‘winging it’.</p><p>His gut squirmed with a mixture of excitement and anxiety and by the sixteenth hour, when he heard the first cry coming from his son, he knew that he was ready to execute the ultimate ‘winging it’ of his life.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Gabriel</strong> had never anticipated anything more in his long life.</p><p>Though he hated seeing you in this amount of pain and discomfort, he found himself wrapped up in an excitedness that he hadn’t felt for a long time.</p><p>Too long had he been going around, trying to find something to occupy his time and entertain him, never had he thought of having a child before.</p><p>Perhaps because he hadn’t been romantically interested in anyone for quite a while.</p><p>Lust had taken over any form of affection for too many years and now that he was nineteen hours in from meeting his daughter, a whole new wave of emotions washed through him.</p><p>This he found strange in itself, considering that his kind weren’t meant to feel emotions.</p><p>Would his daughter?</p><p>That was something he’d never considered, the intricacies of a nephilim and their state between human and angel.</p><p>He understood that many eyes would be on the three of you and he swore to protect you both as best as he could.</p><p>Never had anything so precious happened to him and for that, he swore his life.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Lucifer</strong> watched with sheer glee as you screamed in pain, fisting the sides of the bed as you pushed with all your might.</p><p>It wasn’t that the pain of childbirth was entertaining to him, he’d been humane enough to not deny you your right to pain relief on the threat of his life, but it was more that a being of his making was entering the world to create utter havoc and chaos.</p><p>Oh, the things he will teach this child to do.</p><p>Coming into this world was the ultimate weapon and the anticipating was choking him.</p><p>He didn’t care about the gender, he only cared that they were his to educate and raise.</p><p>Partners weren’t anything new to Lucifer, many stories recounted tales of his amount of wives and though many were blown out of proportion, few saw true accounts.</p><p>You, however, were different in his eyes and he didn’t plan to treat you as he did the others.</p><p>Luring you in with fanciful promises and a handsome face to then marry you and toss you aside for the new, more exciting piece of meat.</p><p>No, you were going to suffer with him for as long as you could put up with it.</p><p>Together, you would raise this child.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Sam</strong>’s leg bounced as he watched the midwives and doctor do their work, feeling guilty and helpless at not having any way to help you himself.</p><p>Sure, he could offer words of reassurance and let you break his arm in your vicelike grip every time you were instructed to push but that didn’t feel like enough.</p><p>You’d spent so much time preparing for this, so why did he feel completely unprepared?</p><p>Dean had been a great help, he’d been more than happy to learn that he was going to be an uncle and jumped at any opportunity there was to get something ready.</p><p>Without the support he had, Sam felt as though he’d be so much further from ready than he already felt.</p><p>You let out another guttural roar and gave his wrist another tight squeeze as the doctor gave another instruction.</p><p>Although he wasn’t going through what you were, he felt the exhaustion of the past twenty or so hours and he didn’t envy your position in the slightest.</p><p>“Okay,” the doctor said, lifting up the unsurprisingly large bundle as a nurse readied herself to clean them off, “and that’s one healthy boy.”</p><p>Sam watched the nurses with utter adoration, tears welling up in his eyes.</p><p>You had done it and he couldn’t be prouder of you.</p><p>The amount of love and adoration he felt were insurmountable and he knew that this feeling would only continue to grow.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. You Needed A Break - Request</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><strong>Castiel:</strong><br/>
 <br/>
“I’m not sure I understand.”</p><p>You groaned in frustration, running an annoyed hand through your hair as the angel stares at you, wearing that damn look of confusion that was kind of heartbreaking.</p><p>“’<em>This</em>’, Castiel, we can’t keep doing this.”</p><p>Over the past few weeks you had caught yourself thinking about your life, the hunts and the beings you had encountered.</p><p>Including your angelic lover.</p><p>You wee a little hesitant to call him your boyfriend, despite you regularly meeting for a bit of casual fun, you’d never done anything you would consider ‘couple’ activity.</p><p>Anyone could meet up for a bit of sex, but beyond that you were usually separated.</p><p>Castiel was usually off gallivanting around with the Winchesters whilst you were hunting and very rarely did you get more than an hour or two alone together.</p><p>It was all beginning to get too impersonal.</p><p>Then you began to think about what he was and what that meant.</p><p>You had no issues with him being an angel, it’s what made him unique after all and it did come in handy at times, but there was one major flaw.</p><p>Despite everything that’s happened and everything he’d gone through, he still didn’t feel anything, not truly at least.</p><p>Sure, he may understand basic emotions now, but knowing and feeling are completely different things and this led to you questioning everything.</p><p>Was all this worth it if he couldn’t truly return your feelings?</p><p>This moment, the moment you finally let out your truth, spoke wonders to you.</p><p>You had just told him that you thought that perhaps it would be best to break up and he barely seemed to react, aside from a look of confusion.</p><p>That cemented it for you.</p><p>Castiel just didn’t fully comprehend your relationship and you couldn’t hold the whole thing up alone.<br/>
<br/>
</p><p><strong>Crowley:</strong><br/>
 <br/>
“I’m sorry, what?”</p><p>The King of Hell raised his eyebrow, staring at you in slight bewilderment.</p><p>“I quit, I’m leaving,” you repeated.</p><p>“Quit? Quit what? Being a demon?”</p><p>“No, being your overworked secretary.”</p><p>“Oh, of course,” he nodded slowly. “You’re quitting your own, self appointed job.”</p><p>You stared back at him with a glare, part of you knew he wouldn’t take this seriously, but that didn’t mean you couldn’t hope otherwise.</p><p>You’d reached a point of exasperation now, overworked by the boss you were infatuated with had led nowhere and you were finally taking a stand.</p><p>Which still wasn’t getting you far.</p><p>“I just feel that I deserve better,” you said bravely.</p><p>However, this only earned a laugh from Crowley.</p><p>“’Deserve better?’ I’m not sure you’re fully aware of this, but let me let you in on a little secret.”</p><p>Wearily, you leaned closer to Crowley as he moved closer to you, a small movement that caused your heart to race.</p><p>“You’re in Hell!” He snapped, scowling angrily. “Things aren’t meant to be pleasant and go your way here, not even for demons.”</p><p>You mentally scolded yourself for not seeing where that had been going.</p><p>“And as for the overworked part, don’t make me laugh,” Crowley scoffed. “If anything, you have it the easiest here.”</p><p>You shuffled a little on your feet, completely unsure where to go from here.</p><p>Admittedly, despite being ignored by Crowley, you did have it easy compared to some of the other demons.</p><p>He never seemed to expect much from you and a lot of things you went out of your own way to do.</p><p>Crowley wasn’t sure whether to laugh or scoff at the moment, so instead he opted for staring you down.</p><p>“Fine, go.”</p><p>“What?” You frowned, your voice faltering a little.</p><p>“You heard me, either get back to work or leave, I have no time for this nonsense.”</p><p>You stayed rooted to the spot, just staring through him as your mind raced.</p><p>Slowly, you turned away from him, still trying to decide if you were truly going to leave or not.<br/>
<br/>
</p><p><strong>Dean:</strong><br/>
 <br/>
Dean observed you with an unreadable expression, his jaw locked and eyes slightly narrowed.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>You took a deep breath, heart racing and throat aching a little.</p><p>“I said that I think it’d be best if we took a break.”</p><p>“Why?”</p><p>You let out a short but frustrated sigh.</p><p>Why did he have to make it so hard?</p><p>“I just think that maybe we both need a little time away,” you explained with a small shrug. “We’re constantly on the go and tripping over each other, a short break won’t hurt.”</p><p>Dean continued to stare, his mind racing behind those gorgeous but tormented eyes of his.</p><p>He was taking it harder than you had anticipated, he always seemed to have this aloof attitude to everything, like nothing ever got to him, despite everyone knowing otherwise.</p><p>While you could admire the act and front he put up, sometimes you wished he’d let it drop and that he’d be more open. There had been a few occasions where he’d suddenly broken down and each time worried you more than the last.</p><p>His reserved nature was part of the reason you needed time away.</p><p>There was only so long one person could go before they reached their limit and the limit had been reached quickly, especially as his temper seemed so much shorter as of late and he seemed to be shutting off from you.</p><p>You were both supposed to be there for each other, but at times it felt like he depended on and opened up to his brother more than you, which made perfect sense in the long run but he needed to understand that you were there for him too, that was part of your role for one another.</p><p>While you understood that the Winchesters have severe co-dependency issues, sometimes it was too much to bear.</p><p>“It’s just temporary,” you frowned, “I just need some time to myself, besides you can spend some time with Sam.”</p><p>“I don’t need to spend anymore time with Sam.”</p><p>You flinched a little at the bite behind his tone, his mood had flipped 180 degrees as he tried to wrap his head around this, in his eyes, sudden decision.</p><p>“Dean, I-“</p><p>“Did I do something wrong?”</p><p>And here came the self blaming, a common trait in him.</p><p>“No,” you snapped, a little harsher than you intended, “I just need some time to myself, okay? We’re constantly under each other’s feet all the time, I just need a break from it all, I just need to leave.”</p><p>He only scowled, his jaw still locked tightly as he stared at the wall just to his left.</p><p>“Alright, if you say so.”</p><p>You frowned at his tone, now detached from anything you were saying.</p><p>“I’m sorry Dean.”</p><p>“Yeah, whatever.”<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <strong>Gabriel:</strong>
</p><p>“Why?”</p><p>The look Gabriel was gave you was unlike anything you had seen from him before, it seemed lost and hurt.</p><p>“I just think maybe it’ll be a good idea, we’ve both been stressed lately and constantly on top of each other.”</p><p>You chose to ignore the vaguely suggestive look and shrug he gave to that remark.</p><p>“Maybe some time apart will do us a world of good, you can’t deny that I’ve been a bit snappy lately.”</p><p>Gabriel nodded slowly, unable to deny that your temper had been rather short as of late.</p><p>It was an undeniable fact that you’d both been under each other’s feet lately, what with Gabriel using your company as a means of unending entertainment and life with an angel could get heavy, especially when you're always running from something aiming to use you against him.</p><p>After a while, it became too much and you just needed to leave it behind and clear your thoughts.</p><p>“Alright.”</p><p>“That’s it?” You looked at him in mild surprise.</p><p>“Yeah,” he shrugged, his usual smile back in place. “Now I know you don’t mean break up officially, I feel a little better and I’m confident you’ll come back.”</p><p>You quirked an eyebrow at his confident smirk, his smugness was gradually returning.</p><p>“You’re so sure of that, huh?”</p><p>“Couldn’t be more so.”</p><p>You laughed and rolled your eyes, throwing the strap of your bag over your shoulder.</p><p>“You’re a dork.”</p><p>“Aww, I love you too.”</p><p>You smiled and nodded, heading to the door. With a hand resting on the cold doorknob, you stopped and turned back towards him, giving him a gentle look he’d rarely seen from you before.</p><p>“Thank you for understanding.”</p><p>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <strong>Lucifer:</strong>
</p><p>Lucifer laughed coldly, giving you a sinister smirk as he shook his head.</p><p>“What makes you think you can just walk away from this?”</p><p>You tried to stay defiant and brave, which was easier said than done in a presence as extreme and powerful as Lucifer.</p><p>“I figured, or at least hoped, you’d have some civility left.”</p><p>You flinched involuntarily when he laughed at you, at your anguish and hopelessness over the situation you found yourself in.</p><p>“Well it seems you thought wrong, you can’t just up and leave whenever you want,” he grinned. “You’re stuck with me, like it or not.”</p><p>“I’m not trying to walk away from this permanently, I just need a small reprieve.”</p><p>You were practically begging by that point, something you hated having to resort to, especially around someone like Lucifer who would only take his twisted pleasure at your misery.</p><p>Lucifer surveyed you with an amused, yet still vaguely sinister, grin.</p><p>“So it’s temporary, hmm?”</p><p>The glint in his eye worried you, when conversations with him even began to take a turn in your benefit you knew something was wrong.</p><p>“Yes,” you nodded hesitantly. “Just a short break.”</p><p>“I can’t say I like the idea, but I suppose I can’t stop you.”</p><p>You eyed him wearily as he merely shrugged at you.</p><p>“Go on then, go.”</p><p>But you found yourself unable to move, standing in your place by the bed all you could do was stare at him.</p><p>Though your bag was already packed and ready for departure, you couldn’t bring yourself to pick it up.</p><p>“Well? Off you go,” he rolled his eyes. “Or shall I leave? Is that what you want?”</p><p>“No, I didn-“</p><p>“Fine,” Lucifer gave you one more smirk, “but don’t think this will be easy.”</p><p>He had gone before you could even think of a response, only the sound of a distant siren pierced the silence that was once filled with Lucifer’s voice.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Sam:</strong><br/>
 <br/>
There it was again, that blasted look that you loved yet hated when it was aimed at you.</p><p>You hated to be the source of this look, but sometimes you needed to be a little selfish and now was one of those times.</p><p>“If you think it’s best,” he nodded.</p><p>And there was that tone, the one that broke your heart more.</p><p>“I do, I’m so sorry.”</p><p>Which you truly were, you didn’t want to hurt him but sometimes life had a funny way of playing out.</p><p>You still loved Sam, without a doubt in your heart, but at times you found yourself questioning if the love was returned as equally.</p><p>That wasn’t to say that Sam didn’t love you, you knew he did in some way, but you needed to know if it was mutual affection or love for convenience.</p><p>Part of you knew it was stupid to question his feelings for you, it wasn’t like he needed to justify his emotions due to a small bit of paranoia, but this is what the life could do.</p><p>The leading concern with Sam was that he fell far too easily and sometimes this made the emotions behind it seem a little less serious when it came to him.</p><p>A few times before you had gotten together you’d witness him with a girl and the way he acted was like a lovesick teenager in his first relationship, he could be worse than Thor falling for a girl over a long weekend only to still be moping two years later.</p><p>Seeing him like that with someone else hurt you, but now that he was with you there was a nagging thought that made you wonder if it was all pure convenience for you both.</p><p>Hunting wasn’t easy and dating while hunting was no simple task, so maybe you both just settled for the closest hunter you felt even a small hint of attraction to.</p><p>This was something you needed to find out, for your sake and his.</p><p>If after a short break you found yourself missing Sam as a genuine lover and boyfriend, then you knew it was right for you to be here with him.</p><p>Once you returned you’d speak to him about it, have a serious one to one about how the break affected you both and if you felt it was right to continue this relationship.</p><p>If one of you decided it wasn’t going to work out, then it would be for the best and you’d both be adults about it.</p><p>But breaking up was the hardest part, especially when you saw Sam trying his hardest to be supportive of your decision despite it hurting so clearly.</p><p>You were confident that everything would work out and things would soon go back to normal between you both, but for now you just needed to clear your head and make sure this was right for you.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>